Summer to Italy
by TehWriter
Summary: The Tamers went to Italy for their vacation. Unfortunately, trouble starts to brew when Rika meets a guy named Nico. The Tamers find themselves in a lot of trouble when Digimon attack Rome. Read to find out what happens. Ryuki fic. Rated T for language
1. Italy anyone?

Disclaimer: don't own D-i-g-i-m-o-n. Simply put. It's obvious I don't since the site IS . Whatever though, others put it so I guess I have to?

**Chapter one – Italy anyone?**

School was almost out. Just an hour to go. Rika sat with her head on her desk. The noise around her was causing her a massive head. Well ... mostly Kazu and Kenta's noise. She sighed and looked out the window. Being the Ice Queen that she is, nobody sat near her, therefore she stole the good seat in class.

"Come on bell!" Kazu screamed. "Fifty-seven minutes to go..."

"I can't wait for summer!" Kenta chimmed in. _Nerds_, Rika thought.

Something outside caught Rika's eye. Or rather ... someone. She squinted to get a better look and almost fell out of her seat. None other then Ryo Akiyama was waiting outside, standing by a tree. Rika glared at him, though he obviously could not see.

"Getting close. Only forty-nine minutes to go!" Kazu pointed out. Rika rolled her eyes. Obviously class will be going slow since _he_ was counting down.

Finally what seemed like eternity, the bell rang (A/N: school is boring, why count down and let you go through that torture?). Rika grabbed her bag and rushed out of the room.

"Rika!" Came a squeak. "Rika wait!"

Rika turned around and found herself face to face with Jeri; who was smiling madly. "Rika. Let's walk to Guilmon's old hideout together." Rika smacked herself. She completely forgot about meeting everyone. _Well, it explains Hero Boy out there,_ she frowned.

Jeri and Rika made their way through the school doors, into the fresh air. Rika was glad she was finally out for two months. No more smelling the hospital smelling school. "Jeri! Rika! Hey guys!" Takato ran up behind them. He wasn't wearing his usual goggles, instead, he was wearing sunglasses. They were dorky, but it was better then the goggles.

The trio came around the side of the school heading straight for the gate to the streets. Kazu, Kenta, Henry, and Ryo were patiently waiting. _How the _hell_ did they mange to get there before us?!_ Rika asked herself.

"Hey guys." Ryo greeted, his hands behind his head. He smiled at Rika, "Pumpkin." Rika gave him a glare.

"Now don't start guys." Henry pleaded, "we JUST got out of school. Lay off."

"Yeah, yeah. Come on chums, let's go!" Kazu shouted. Already taking off before the others. Kenta following behind like the lost puppy he is.

Everyone sat down around the trees, relaxing and smiling – even Rika.

"So Ryo, what are your plans this summer?" Henry asked curious. Ryo looked at him and smiled. "Nothing." He replied simply.

"What about you Rika?" Jeri asked her. "Got any big plans?"

Rika thought for a moment, _what _am_ I doing this summer? _She shrugged, "I don't know."

"I'm going to be helping in the bakery with my dad." Takato frowned. "As much as I don't want to, I need the money."

"Money for what?" Jeri innocently asked. Takato blushed and turned away, "nothing." Jeri smiled.

"I'll be helping my dad as well. He's getting some new computer equipment and he's going to need help." Henry told them. "Not going to be overly exciting, but atleast it's something."

"I say we go to the water park on Saturday!" Kazu randomly screamed. "We need a break."

Everyone mumbled in agreement. "Saturday it is then."

Suddenly a cell phone rang. Everyone looked at Rika who answered it suddenly. "Hello?" She stood up and walked away from the group, excusing herself without saying anything.

"Hey Rika, hun." A voice came. It was Rika's mother - Rumiko (A/N: is that really her name?)

"Hi mom." Rika frowned.

"Rika, I hope you haven't made any plans this summer," Rumiko said. She was smiling.

"No. Obviously not. Summer JUST began."

"Good. Hate to tell you this Rika, but my manager wants us to go to Italy for a shoot." Rumiko was a famous model, and to Rika's distaste, she wanted Rika to become one also.

"Ugh! Why do _I_ have to go?" Rika snarled.

"Why not? It's Italy!" Her mother cheered. "You really have no choice. Now I have to go Rika, I have some errands to run. Oh and one more thing hun. Ask your friends to go too. Love you." She hung up.

Rika turned around and Ryo was behind her. Eavesdropping, of couirse.

"Italy eh?" He smiled. "Sounds fun."

"I didn't ask you to go Akiyama," Rika glared at him. Inviting himself was definately a NO in Rika's book.

"You heard your mom. _'Ask your friends to go too'_." His blue eyes sparkled. "I've always wanted to go. And, not to mention, Italy is romantic."

"Get a life." Rika walked away, leaving him standing there smiling. She headed to everyone else, who were looking up at her sudden appearance. "So ... umm ... want to go to Italy for the summer?"

A/N: hope you liked it. I'm not the best writer ever, but I have a great idea that I don't want to waste. If any mistakes with names and such – like Rika's mom – please let me know. Oh, ideas are also welcome :D


	2. Let's get ready to jet!

Disclaimer: don't own ... :D

**Chapter two – Let's get ready to jet!**

Luggage in hand, the Tamers, headed into the Airport, followed by Rika's mother and grandmother. Inside felt like a city of its own. Stores upon stores lined the walls and hallways. To the right of entering was a gift shop, service stand, McDonalds (A/N: Micky D's just has to be in this), a small, but packed, coffee shop and a smoothie stand. On the left side was the hall ways leading to the terminals and more shops. The Tamers followed Rumiko and Rika's grandmother down the halls towards the terminal entrance. A gift shop full of airport merchandise was the first store on the left. Following that were restrooms and more coffee and donut shops.

There was so much to see in the airport the Tamers kept moving their heads, making their necks crack from the rush. The nine kept walking until the came upon a large entrance. Walking inside they found themselves in a place full of service desks, luggage checkers (A/N: i've never been in an airport before so bear with me if I don't know what some things are called.), payphones, and metal dectectors. The place was full of people heading out of the country for a nice long vacation. Rumiko stepped up to the nearest counter and handed the petite women a small envolope.

"This place is amazing," Jeri said in awe. "I've never been in an airport before. This is breath taking." She pulled out a digital camera from her zipper-up sweater. She began clicking like a mad women.

"It's not all that great," Rika frowned. She had to ruin the moment.

"Oh yes it is!" Jeri assured her. She smiled like a little kid seeing Santa in person. Seeing Jeri happy made Rika smile, slightly that is.

"OK kids, follow me!" Rumiko called. Everyone followed suit as she took them down several long terminals and around several corners. Finally reaching their opening, Rumiko stopped, smiling brightly. "Alright guys. Here is what is happening." Her eyes shined with glory. "We are taking a private jet."

Everyone's jaws dropped. Jeri, being the odd one, almost fainted from the news. Takato grabbed her, smiling. "Glad everyone loves the surprise," Rumiko said. She turned away from everyone and looked around. Spotting what she was looking for, she headed over to a man dressed in a black suit and red tie. He was wearing sunglasses and had a cell phone in his hand. He smiled at the sight of Rumiko.

"Hey Wildcat, you never told us we were taking a jet."

Rika turned around after hearing her annoying nickname being said. She glared at Ryo. "Because I knew?" She stormed over to her grandmother, leaving Ryo smiling with pleasure.

"This is so awesome!" Kazu said to Kenta. "Like dude ... I am so glad we came. Not glad about spending time in Italy with Rika though."

Kenta laughed. "We can ditch her and the others to hang out with Ryo."

"Or you can not ditch us and grow up," Rika spat.

"How did she hear us? She's halfway across the room," Kenta muttered.

"Dude, she is one psycho lady." After hearing that comment, Rika rushed over and knocked Kazu in the head. "Ow!"

Rumiko was back with the group, beaming at them. "Let's get ready to board!"

--

Quick author note here. Since I've never ever ever ever been on a plan before, there is NO possible way I can describe them boarding. So I am skipping them boarding (since i don't actually know what takes place before getting on the plane) and now they are on the plane! Enjoy reading! :)

--

The private jet was large. It was like a house that can fly. After coming through the doors, you found yourself in a small compartment with seats all facing the front of the plane. There were three seats per row, three rows on each side. There were alot of leg room and nice comfy looking seats. Each tamer took a seat. On the left side at the back, Kazu and Kenta took the seat, motioning for Ryo to join them.

On the right side at the back, Henry, Takato, and Jeri filled the seats. Rika took the middle row by the window. Rumiko, Rika's grandmother, and the man in the black suit all left for the back of the room. Not worrying about the luggage, which was taken by the luggage carrier to be placed at the storage end of the plane, Rika relaxed, hoping to enjoy her first ever plane ride – even though she was a bit nervous.

Moments after getting on the plane, a voice projected throughout the plane came on. _"Please buckle your seat belts, we are taking off in 3 minutes."_ A click after that informed everybody he was done speaking.

"Hey Pumpkin." Rika's eyebrow twitched. She wanted to be alone but no, Pretty Boy had to interfere. "Need someone to sit with?" Without waiting for an answer, he sat down beside her, smiling his trademarked smile.

Rika folded her arms. "Leave or I will knock you out and push you out the jets door when we are flying."

Ryo laughed at this. "You don't have the heart to."

"Oh you don't think so? Leave me in peace and go sit with your fan girls. Oops, I mean your fan boys." Rika growled.

The seat belt sign flashed a warning to everyone, reminding them to wear their seat belts. "Too late Wildcat. I must be seated for the plane to take off."

Rika frowned and looked out the window. _Fifteen hours of being with him? God kill me now! _(A/N: I looked it up, approximate time from Italy to Japan was about 15 hours. Sorry if this info is wrong, I don't think exact time really matters here, now does it?)

Ryo smiled as he read her thoughts. "It's a long flight, but you don't have to put up with me the whole time." He pulled out a black Nintendo DS™. "I have this to occupy myself with."

Rika ignored him. The jets engines began to rumble, Rika gripped the arm rest tight.

"Scared Wildcat?" Ryo asked, innocently.

"Of what?!" She snapped. It was true though, she was terrified. She had never been on a plane before, and this experience was quite frightening to her. Although, she would never say it out loud.

After what seemed like hours of waiting for take off, the jet was in flight. The seat belt sign stopped blinking. Rika took off her seat belt and stood up. The jet taking off had made her feel uneasy. Rika slipped by Ryo – who was still playing his game, _probably a princess one_, Rika thought – and made her way past the seats into the next compartment.

Inside the next compartment was an even bigger room then the taking flight compartment. This area was like a master kitchen and dinning room. A table on each side of the jet was large enough to fit four people on each side of the table. A counter with a sink, microwave, and a coffee machine was linned up at the back. A small snacking refrigerator sat nearest the wall on the counter. Wine racks were plastered on the opposite side of the counter.

Rika slipped to the table on the left of the room, where her mother, grandmother and the man in the black suit sat. She sat the opposite side of her mother.

"Oh this is just gorgous!" Rumiko exclaimed. She was loving every minute of being on the jet.

"Well get cozy then. We will be here a while." The man in the suit smiled warmly at Rumiko. His hands were folded around a small coffee mug. "Sorry to be rude Miss Nonaka. My name is Mr Shimizu, your mothers agent." He held out a hand for Rika to shake, but she didn't accept. He drew his hand back and nodded, continuing. "I arranged for this trip, and I was more then happy to have you come along."

"Oh we can't thank you enough," Rumiko smiled. "This is a whole new oppertunity. I am so glad we have a chance to take it."

Mr Shimizu smiled at this. He took a sip of his coffee. "Yes, well, I am more then greatful for you accepting my offer." He turned his attention back onto Rika, "Miss Nonaka, I am sure you know all about the photo shoot I presume?"

"Kind of, I guess."

"Well, we have to get you fitted." He grinned at her. "Shooting is in three days."

"What?!" Rika slammed her fists on the table. Mr Shimizu's coffee split. "I was never told I had to be in this stupid photo shoot."

"Rika, don't be so rude," Rika's grandmother hissed.

"Yes, well Miss Nonaka, the whole idea for you coming here _was_ to be in the photo shoot."

Rika glared at her mother. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because I knew you wouldn't agree to this. Especially since you have to wear extremely girly dresses. Which do look quite nice." Rumiko replied. Obviously she was enjoying herself.

"Whatever." Rika left the table and went back to the first compartment.

Hours passed since the flight of the jet. Boredum was already stricking everyone. Ryo was fast asleep next to Rika, who no doubtably hated the idea. Every now and then his head will some how manage to find its way to Rika's shoulder. Everytime it touched, it would always manage to find its way to the seat in front – with Rika's help pushing it of course.

After being on the jet for nine hours, everyone was bored. Kazu and Kenta managed to find their way into the kitchen and had eaten most of the good snacks. Henry was watching a movie with his headphones in. Takato and Jeri were holding hands looking out the window. Rika was half asleep when she felt something look at her. Or someone rather.

"What are you looking at, Akiyama?" She hissed.

"You, obviously."

"Why?"

"Was just thinking." He grinned and his eyes sparkled.

"Do I want to know what of?"

"That depends. I can tell you if you would like to know. But of course, if I do, you will probably wait until I fall asleep before doing something horrible to me." He thought back to being pushed out the jet door.

Rika smacked him. "Find something else to do. You are annoying the HELL out of me."

His smile faded and a look of innocence took its place. "If you are tired Pumpkin, you can always use me as a pillow."

"In your dreams."

--

A/N: OK, I hope you guys like it. Or atleast, some what like it. Like I said in chapter one, I am not the best writer ever. I know this chapter was fairly long, and probably got boring soon. So I ended it with "In your dreams". Could be worse though ... I was thinking about doing an hour on the plane for each chapter. How boring would that be eh? Anyways, the next chapter they will be in Italy. No more plane ride! Yay!

Also, please excuse my spelling mistakes, if there are any. And don't forget to leave a review. Oh and suggestions for next/upcoming chapters are more then welcome!

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	3. First night in fine Italy!

A/N: Sorry for the wait. I was working on_ Haunted House of Horror_ .. check it out sometime eh? And thanks to my three reviewers for reviewing, means alot to me tear .. anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

By the way, I just read **Digimon Murderer**, it's a great Ryuki fic, you guys should read it if you haven't already! And it isn't complete yet shakes fist

Please note, I used Free Translation to get the Italian for the story, since I don't speak it. Enjoy!

**Chapter three – First night in fine Italy!**

Rika looked at the Hotel's pamphlet in complete disgust. "How come the hotel looks nothing like the picture in the pamphlet?"

Rumiko thought for a moment before replying. "Well because pictures are designed to make things look pretty, even if they aren't."

"Explains you," Rika smirked. She quickly entered the hotel before Rumiko caught onto the remark.

Everyone was standing inside the main lobby. Rika looked around, _okay so maybe it's not as ugly inside as it is out. _The hotels lobby had an elegant effect. The tiles were shimering gold in the pattern of diamonds. A red carpet led from the door to the main desk. Pink sofa's lined the waiting rooms' walls followed by elevators and emergancy stairs on the right. To the left, grand oak doors with the desgins of mountain lions carved in it, lead to a small room with fine designer couches and chairs. More rooms were attached and Rika made a mental note to check them all out later.

Across the room, a man in the main desk looked up and them and smiled. He was wearing a nice black jacket and matching pants, and a mustache covered his upper lip. He greeted them as they approached.

"Dare il benvenuto all'hotel." He said, with a bright smile. The Tamers all looked at him. He blinked. "Lei parla l'italiano?"

Mr Shimizu walked to the desk. "Molto spiacente, non parlano l'italiano." He smiled and continued talking to the Italian man.

"So, who's all staying with whom?" Henry asked.

Rumiko smiled, "well I myself will be staying with Rika's grandmother(A/N: anyone care to fill in the name please?). And I guess, everyone will have to take a partner and share a room with them."

"Obviously," Rika snorted. Jeri giggled. Thankfully, Rumiko didn't hear.

"Right, this way please." Mr Shimizu said. He lead the way to the elevator and waited until everyone climbed in. The doors closed and he pressed the number 5 button. "We have five rooms booked. Rooms 116,117,118,119, and room 124." The elevator jerked to life and sped up to the fifth floor. It haulted, and the doors opened. Mr Shimizu stepped out first. "Room 124 is mine. Have a good night everyone." He said. Pulling his luggage he took off down the hall.

"Well I guess I'm rooming with Kenta," Kazu said. He stretched and headed down the hall. A sign on the wall read _Rooms 114-125_ with a red arrow pointing to the right. Kazu followed the sign and made his way to the rooms, Kenta close behind him.

"Of course _he_ is bunking with Kenta," Rika began, "those two make it seem like they are a couple."

Everyone, but Rumiko and Rika's grandmother, laughed. The rest of the Tamers, and Rika's mother and grandmother, headed down the hall and claimed their rooms.

"Where is the key?" Rika asked frowning.

Rumiko gasped. "Oh darn, Mr Shimizu forgot to give it to us. Rika, hun, will you please go get it?" Rika hesitated then nodded.

Rika walked down the hall slowly so she could take in the scenery. The carpets were a nice beige colour, and the walls had a light tint of blue, making the hallway bright. Pictures from all around Italy lined the walls. Rika turned around a corner and continued walking for a couple more rooms. She was nearing the end of the hallway when finally she approached room 124. She lifted her hand to knock when she noticed the door open a crack. Mr Shimizu was standing in the centre of the nice hotel room, talking on his cellphone. Rika pressed her ear against the door to listen in. Not that she was eavesdropping, but she was curious to know what was being said.

"Yes. Yes. I've told you, everyone is here," Mr Shimizu growled. Who ever he was talking to was surely annoying him. "I know what I have to do." He paused to listen. "No. Shut up and listen to me. Things will work out. I know what I'm doing." Another slight pause. He nodded at the phone. "Yes, yes. Miss Nonaka is here." He sighed. "Yes I know. I know the plan. I will see you tomorrow. Good night." He shut his cellphone and threw it on the table beside him.

Rika worked up the courage and knocked on the door. It opened a bit more as she hit it. "Um, Mr Shimizu." Mr Shimizu turned around and faced the door.

"Who is it?" He barked. _Wow, he's a real grump when he's not in front of everyone,_ Rika thought. He stepped closer to the door and opened it. "Ah Rika, it's you. What do you need?" He asked with a smile. Rika frowned.

"The keys to the room. You never gave them to us." She answered. He blinked searched all of his pockets. Finding the keys, he handed them to Rika, making an apology. Rika nodded and went back to her room, handing everyone their set.

"Well, well, well. It's about time missy, did you get lost?" Kazu asked.

"No, but if you don't shut up, you're going to lose your head." Rika rolled her eyes and went inside her room, followed by Jeri.

When they entered their room their jaws dropped in awe. The room they were standing in was large. Rika and Jeri were standing in what seemed to be the sitting room. A small couch with a flower pattern sat up against the wall, in between the hallway and what seemed to be the kitchen. When entering, the left side of the room had a doorway, followed by a small space where a desk was sitting. A hallway came off from the sitting room and was attached to another door and a bathroom straight ahead. To the right of the sitting room was the small, but very nice, kitchen.

Rika and Jeri stood in the center of the sitting room, and observed it some more. A red elegant rug with different colour patterns of squares occupided the floor, and a TV with a DVD player sat in front of the couch. A blue chair was beside the TV, followed by a computer desk, with of course, a computer, and on the other side of the computer was another matching chair. A painting of two tigers clashing out in a battle, hung behind the TV. Rika moved into the kitchen and was even more surprised. The kitchen was pretty spacious. A small fridge and a marble counter top were lined on the wall. A microwave sat ontop of the counter, followed by a coffee pot. A table on the other side of the room took up quite amount of space, but the place was nice all itself.

"Hey Rika! Come here!" Jeri called. Rika left the kitchen and was back into the living room. Jeri stood in front of the first door. "I'll take this room," she said. Rika nodded and walked down the small hall. She opened the door to the other room and entered.

The bedroom was half the size of the living room and had a nice four poster bed, and a small dresser. The carpet was almost of a gray colour, and the walls were a very light yellow. Rika smiled and threw her junk onto the bed, and left the room.

"Come on Jeri." Rika knocked on her door and entered. Her room was almost the same as Rika's but with a slight difference. It was a bit smaller but had a TV, and a computer of it's own. Rika looked at Jeri. "It's nearing five," she said, "let's go grab a bite to eat." Jeri nodded and they left the hotel room and headed for the elevator.

(A/N: I've never been to a hotel before, so instead, I described my house, haha. Well almost my house. Trust me, it's bigger then the discription makes it seem. Now on with the story.)

Rika pushed the down button, and the waited for the elevator to collect them.

"Oh Rika, let's go get Takato!" Jeri said. Rika sighed, and followed Jeri to the other rooms.

"Do you know which way his room is?" Rika asked. Jeri shook her head and knocked on room 117's door.

Rumiko answered and smiled, "Oh Rika, it's you honey. What do you need?"

"Nothing mother. We are looking for Takato's room." Rika said. "We're going for dinner wi-"

"Dinner? Oh sounds so good! Let me grab my purse!" Rumiko went into the room, and came out a few seconds later, followed by Rika's grandmother. "Let's go, let's go!"

Rika rolled her eyes, "fine. Let's grab everyone else then." She headed down the hall and noticed Jeri was at room 118. Ryo's head was popped out and he was smiling. He went back inside and came out moments later, followed by Kazu and Kenta. Takato and Henry came out of the last room and met up with them all.

"Hey Rika, a dinner with me. This should be interesting," Ryo said. She looked at him and frowned. He pulled her hair in an annoying manner and took off down the hall chuckling, leaving Rika fuming with anger.

"I'll kill him! I swear I will. You all just watch and see," Rika stamped down to the elevator after Ryo. The doors opened and Ryo went in, pulling Rika in with him. He pushed the button to close the door and hit the ground floor button. "Akiyama, what is the meaning of this?" She roared.

He smiled, "meaning of what Pumpkin?" He asked, all innocently. The elevator haulted and Ryo pecked Rika on the check and took off again, giggling. Rika turned red and stared at the spot he was just standing in. Shaking her head, Rika climbed out of the elevator and waiting for the others to get off the one beside.

A ding told Rika the elevator had finally reached the floor, and everyone climbed out. "Rika, you're looking a bit red." Rumiko smiled. Rika frowned and crossed her arms. She turned and headed for the door, Jeri close on her heels.

"Rika, what happened in the elevator?" Jeri interrogated.

Rika shrugged. "Nothing. Ryo was being a moron ... like always." Jeri giggled.

"So girls, how do you like your rooms?" Rika's grandmother asked.

"It is wonderful! Like a house of its own. Must have cost a fortune," Jeri said. Her eyes sparkled just thinking about the house-like hotel room they were going to sleep in that night.

"I'm glad you like it, Jeri. My manager had to pull some strings to get us in. After all, it is tourist season." Rumiko beamed. "Oh I just love it here!"

The nine made their way to a small, but cute, restaraunt. Opening the door to the small italian restaraunt, they found themselves surrounded by the loud chatter of hungry people. They were all sitting at the small – yet beautiful – wooden tables, laden with cutlery of sorts. Stepping in, Rika noticed a skinny man standing to her left, looking at them all. He smiled as he approached. "May I seat you?" He asked in his primary language.

"Si." Henry answered, adding a graceful, "Gracie." Rika gave him a questioning look. "I know some Italian words," he said simply.

The waiter swiftly and deftly flowed through the crowded area and had taken them out back into a sun-civered deck. The nine took their seats. Rika sat down between her mother and her grandmother. Ryo sat across from her, followed by Kazu and Kenta on each side. Henry sat beside Rumiko, and Takato and Jeri claimed a small table of their own. The waiter handed them each a menu and took off back into the crowd of people.

Rika peered at her menu. The choices for the main entree section didn't seem all that satisfying. "Ugh. Linguini, clam chowder, tomato soup? Who wants any of that? What a horrible menu."

"What's wrong Pumpkin," Ryo asked looking at her. Rumiko giggled and said something about how cute it was that he calls her that. "Don't like Italian food?"

"No. I just can't find anything worth dumping on you if you call me that again," Rika snapped. "I guess I will settle with the spaghetti. And a glass of fine Italian Wine."

"Wine? Rika, honey, you are too young for that." Rika's grandmother said. Rika grumbled and folded her arms. Ryo laughed.

The waiter came back and placed everyones orders and headed off again. Rika looked around as she awaited her food. Her attention was drawn to a rather crude, yet cute, painting on the wall. It was a family of very well-fed people sitting down to eat as the also well-rounded chef watches, pulling the chair out for the women. It made Rika wonder if all Italian restaurants were this traditional.

After a twenty or so minute wait, the waiter delievered the food with a smile. Everyone said their thanks and he took off again.

"Oh my, this is absolutely delicious!" Rumiko purred. She was savoring every second of her food. "Just fantastic!"

"I agree with you Rumiko. This is just wonderful," Rika's grandmother commented.

"Hey Rika, you hardly touched your food," Ryo observed. Rika rolled her eyes and ignored him. "And you got a bit of sauce on your face. Right about -" he reached over with his napkin and dabbed Rika's face, "-here."

Rika turned a shade of red and threw a meatball at him. "Ever do that again, it will be the whole plate." Everyone laughed.

After their delightful dinner, they left the restaurant and headed back to their hotel. It was getting pretty dark out. The sun was setting crimson low on the horizon as the birds began to sing their night songs. People were bustling about; the pedalers calling for people to look at their merchandise; the small cars hurtling through the narrow streets; women in elegant and sophisticated clothing looking in shop windows. From all around, smells of foods being cooked for dinner waft, and Rika herself could feel the excitement of food shared by these people. The small trees which lined houses sway slightly in the breeze, as hanging pots creek softly. These sunsets in Rome were always like that; full of gentle movement and a clam serenity that fills the very air, as the world around gets ready for another sweet slumber of Italy.

_XXXXXXXXXXXX_

A/N: Dun dun dun. Here is the long awaited chapter three. Sorry it was a little dull, but I did add in some forshadowing. Like Mr Shimizu on the phone with this mysterious person. And Ryo's love for Rika played out a bit, though Rika is too 'cool' to notice it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I know it's short but it's just leading up to the good stuff, I promise! Oh, and I can't take much credit for the description of Italy in the restaurant and the sun set. My best friend went to Italy, England, Paris, and where was that other place? I Donno, it will come to me. Anyways she went there in 2006 for a month. I had her describe to me the scenery. So see, it all isn't that lame since it's not a made up description HAHA. Anyways, stick around. I'll try to post the next chapter soon. Which is called, **Chapter four – The Italian man and the Photo Shoot. **By the way, I hope I get the point out there that I totally do not know what hotels even remotely look like. I googled some and I never really got anything I was particually looking for. So I guess you can call their hotel rooms a suite eh? Take care! And review please! Suggestions are also welcome you know smiles


	4. The Italian man and the photo shoot

Hey guys! Wow, I have two stories going at once. Ahh, I'm going to be spending my summer writing. It's my goal to at least complete this one this summer. So anyways, on with the story!!

**Chapter four – The Italian man and the Photo Shoot**

Rika woke with a start. She had the funniest feeling somebody was watching her – or something. She sat up and looked around, rubbing her eyes. The room was dim and shadows lingered in the corner. She looked at the clock, 5:38am. She knew she wouldn't fall back to sleep, so she got up and headed to the small bathroom.

She came out of the bathroom a half hour later, with a towel wrapped around her. She went into the her room and changed. She put on her usual blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a v-neck and short sleeves. Rika tied her hair up into her spikey ponytail and left her room. Her stomach gave a loud growl. "Ugh. I wonder if this place has something decent to eat." She went into the kitchen and rummaged through the cupboards, only to find nothing. She sighed. "It's probably too early to go downstairs for breakfast."

Rika left the kitchen and into the living room. She sat down at the computer and turned it on. She began playing a Digimon card game, and got bored after winning three battles in a row. Rika gave the clock a quick glance, 7:22am. She got up and grabbed her money and left the hotel room, shutting the door quietly.

(A/N: I get bored of saying she/they/etc.. went into the elevator, so let's fast forward, hehe)

The elevator dinged and Rika stepped out and stretched. The Hotel was pretty packed. Many foreigners were coming in and going. Each one greeting each other with a friendly 'good morning,' in their not so, but good enough, tourist Italian language. Rika couldn't but feel happy in this atmosphere. Everything in Italy just seemed so lively.

A bellboy with a nice cheery blue suit, dangling with gold strings, came over to Rika. He smiled brightly as he spoke, "Buongiorno." He said kindly.

"Um. Hello." Rika said. He beamed at her. "Uhh, which way to the breakfast restaurant?" He looked puzzled for a second, then continued smiling, nodding his head and saying 'Si'. Rika sweat dropped. _Hopeless, completely hopeless,_ she thought. "Break-fast." She tried again. "Which. Way. To. The. Break. Fast?" The bellboy nodded again, still smiling. Rika frowned. "FOOD," she said angerly. The man hesitated, but still smiled. Rika's eye twitched and she walked away.

"Ah. I believe you are looking for a place to eat?" A voice said from behind Rika. She turned to snap at the person, telling him it wasn't his business, but was shocked to see the person behind her. He was a young Italian around her age. He had black hair and nice green eyes. Though he spoke broken Japanese, (A/N: not like I can say broken English, can I? Rika after all is Japanese. /winks) it made Rika's heart give a jump. His voice was so sweet. "I can show you." He smiled. Rika, in a trance by this nice looking Italian, nodded. He placed his arm through hers and headed down the lobby, into the room with Lion Doors.

"May I catch your name?" He asked sweetly. They walked through more double doors and entered a dining area.

"Err. Rika. Rika Nonaka." Rika said. He smiled.

"Nice to meet you Rika Nonaka. I am Nico. Nico Romano." They took a seat at a small round table and sat across from each other. A waiter came to greet them, holding a pen and a note pad. "Rika, what would you like?"

Rika shrugged, "a coffee, and some toast, I guess."

Nico looked at the waiter. "Caffè latte e prima colazione, gracie." The waiter smiled and left. _Is everyone this cheerful, _Rika wondered. "So Rika, what brings you to Italy?"

Rika looked at him and frowned. "Here with my mother and my friends." The waiter came by and gave Rika her order. She thanked him and took a sip of coffee. "We are here doing a modeling shoot. Well, my mother and I are, anyways. My friends decided to tag along." _Well, Ryo and the nit wits anyways,_ she thought.

Nico smacked his head. "Ah, but of course. You did look familiar. You are Rumiko's daughter, si?" Rika nodded. "Oh what a privilege to meet you. I will also be working with you." His eyes shined with glory. "What luck was it to run into you here. Come we must tour Italy together."

"Um, but, ah, I can't." Rika said. Nico's smiled vanished. "I'm here with my friends. If I just leave then they will worry."

"Oh not a worry Rika. We will leave them a note in your room." He grabbed Rika's arm and pulled her out of her seat. Rika threw down a few Euros and grabbed her bread roll, which she realised she _didn't_ order, but shrugged it off.

They left the dining area and headed to Rika's room. When arriving, Rika entered and shut the door. She stepped into Jeri's room and shook her awake. "Ah. Who is it? What time is it?" Jeri mumbled, rolling over.

"Jeri it's me." Rika said. She shook Jeri again. "I'm going to go tour Italy with my new friend. Let everyone know okay." Jeri mumbled something and Rika took it as a sign that she heard.

**XXXX**

"Rika, are you still with me?" Nico asked, half laughing. They were sitting outside of a small cafe, drinking latte's and talking about, well, Digimon.

"Yeah. I was just thinking." She replied. She felt so clam with him, and it made her smile. Rika observed the scenery. Italy was just so peaceful. Every now and then a teen would walk by playing guitar and singing _On an Evening in Roma. _Rika hardly understood what was being said in the song, since it's a mixture of Italian and what Rika guessed was English, but the song was beautiful all the same.

"So after Calumon was gone, what did you guys do?" Nico asked. He was very interested in hearing about Rika's Digital adventures.

"Went to the Digital World." Rika said casually. "We went through a lot of trouble, but it was worth it in the end." Nico nodded, grinning. "Well, have you heard of the D-Reaper?"

"Si, si. The red thing which attacked Tokyo. Of course. I'm sure all the world heard it, no?" He placed his elbows on the table and his chin on his hands, staring at Rika dreamily, as she told him all about it.

Meanwhile ...

"I've looked everywhere for Rika. Where could she be?" Rumiko panicked. She pacing back and forth in her hotel room, while Rika's grandmother sat on the couch, sipping at her tea. The Tamers were also in the room, looking at each other. "It's not like Rika to just ... leave! She could be hurt!" Rumiko gave an melodramatic gasp, "or worse! She could be kidnapped." At this Ryo jumped up from the chair he was sitting on and his face bore a worried look.

"I will go look for her again!" He declaired. Everyone looked at him. "I don't want Rika to be in any danger, I must go back out and search."

"No point Ryo. We already looked around the hotel. It's not like she met someone and just left." Henry said. He was at the point of panicking himself, but he held himself together.

Jeri blushed, and looked away. "Uhh." Every eye turned on her. She did a little 'cough' and spoke. "Well, maybe she is with someone."

"What?" Rumiko said. "How would you know."

Jeri looked at her feet and spoke in a low voice. "I forgot. Oh. She told me she was going to tour Italy with someone she just met. I was half asleep when she told me, so I assumed it was a dream." Ryo did an animated sweat drop and fell backwards on the ground and twitched. (A/N: you know what I'm talking about? How an overly dumb character says something stupid and another character falls down from the dumbness? Anyways, on with the chap.)

"Jeri why didn't you say anything before?" Takato asked. He wasn't angry with her, just annoyed that everyone was worring and Jeri knew all along.

"Like I said. I forgot." A tear ran down her cheek. "I'm sorry for making everyone worry like that. Honestly, I am."

"It's okay Jeri. At least we know she's safe. Well, kind of anyways." Henry said. "She took off with some person she met. Her judgement must be poor for running off with a stranger."

Ryo's face lit up with anger. "Damn her. What if she gets hurt! I'm off to find her!" He left, slamming the door shut behind him.

**XXX**

Back at the cafe ...

"Ah Rika,I must say it is splendid being with you." Nico said. He was grinning. Rika blushed. "Today has been so much fun, si?" Rika nodded. Nico looked at his watch and beamed. "It is still early. Come, we shall go do some sight seeing."

Rika and Nico trugged along the streets of the city. The sun glistened high and wrapped them up in a warm embrace. The sky was cloud-free and such a brilliant blue that it looked like the ocean, and you could see forever. The birds sang love songs as they walked under bright green palm trees and sweet-smelling flowers. Rika's heart was full, and she felt peaceful and whole. They walked through a couple of parks where children, elders, lovers, dogs, birds, and plants alike shared the wonders of beauty, love and life. It was all at harmony.

After some time they made their way back to the hotel. Nico gave Rika a kiss on her hand – which made her blush – and took off down the street.

**XXX**

Rika opened the door to her hotel room, only to be met with some pretty nasty looks. She blinked at them and frowned.

"And where were you?" Rumiko asked. She too was frowning. "We looked everywhere for you. Do you know what time it is? It's almost seven o'clock. You've been gone all day! Explain yourself!"

"I don't need to tell you where I've been. It's none of your business," Rika snapped. She had a point, it wasn't their business, no matter how worried they were. It was especially none of their business since she was with a boy. "I'm going to take a shower now." She headed towards the bathroom when she felt someone grab her arm. "Let go of me."

"Rika, we were all worried sick. Where were you?" Ryo asked. Much to Rika's surprise, he wasn't smiling.

Rika pulled away from his grasp, "I was _out_. Okay? Stop interrogating me!" Ryo blocked the hallway so Rika couldn't flee. "Move Akiyama. Now!" Her temper started to rise. "I don't need any of you butting into my social life." With that, Rika turned and left the hotel room, with Ryo close on her heels. Rika haulted outside the elevators and folded her arms. "Stop following me, Akiyama."

"Rika, don't you understand? We were worried," he said. Rika turned to face him. He wasn't frowning anymore, but he had a sad look in his eyes. "You could have been hurt for all we knew. You had us all upset. You had _me_ upset."

Rika looked at him in confusion, "I told Jeri I was going out with a friend. Clearly she can not deliver messages."

Ryo shook his head. "Yeah she told us after we all looked for you. She said she forgot. Anyway, who were you out with?" The elevator came and the doors opened but they didn't climb in.

"Someone I am supposed to do a photo shoot with." Rika replied, watching the elevators' doors close. "His name is Nico."

Ryo raised an eyebrow, "_His_ name? You were out with some guy you don't even know?"

"Relax Akiyama. If he wanted to hurt me then he would already have done so." Rika sighed. "Anyways, let's head back to the room. I have that stupid shoot tomorrow."

**XXX**

"That's it, that's it. Work it!" The Japanese photographer said. "Come on, big smiles. Perfect, perfect." He snapped pictures of this couple, who were smiling their heads off. "Ah. Awesome. Thank you." He stopped clicking and straightened himself up. Rika watched as the couple left, holding hands and discussing their pictures. "Oh and who do we have here?" The photographer smiled. "Miss Nonaka. Pleasure baby, pleasure." He grabbed her hand and shook it. Rika pulled away and frowned.

"Now Rika, be nice," Rumiko said. She was smiling and observing everything going on. Couples walked through sets all around getting ready to get their photos taken for the upcoming fashion magazine. "Oh this is just so marvelous."

"Oh and who is this young lady?" The photographer said, taking Rumiko's hand planting a kiss on it. "I knew I was photographing Miss Nonaka, but nobody said anything about her sister." Rumiko blushed and Rika rolled her eyes. "Come now Miss Nonaka. Get changed, I'll be waiting."

A lady with a headset on pushed Rika towards the changing room, where Rika had to put on a pink dress with purple beaded chiffon, twist knots leading to the drapping front, and an open back. If it were on anyone else, Rika would have admitted it was pretty. A hair dresser tied her hair up in a bun, and left strands of hair fall on each side of her face. A makeup artist powdered Rika - which made her sneeze sending it flying into the womens face. The lady growled and stomped out of the dressing room.

"Are we ready?" A man asked. He popped his head into the dressing room. It was Mr Shimizu. A women beside Rika nodded and Mr Shimizu grabbed Rika by the hand and dragged her to the photo set.

"Good, good. I want you to smile like you won a million bucks, baby," the photographer, Toru, said. "Good, good. You are very pretty dear, very,very pretty. That's it. Turn to your other side and put your hands on your hips and smile. Great! You are very talented. Very." He snapped the camera a mile a minute. "Yes. Ah just heart warming." He stopped clicking. "Great. Well done baby, just gorgeous. I need to get some more film." Toru left the set.

"Rika! Oh wonderful seeing you here," the voice of Nico said. "You look all too beautiful." He bowed and smiled. "I hope you are ready?"

"Ready for what?" Rika asked.

"Oh but of course, we are taking pictures together, si?" He smiled. He was dressed casual, but nice all the same. He was wearing a very light brown thin cotten sweater, and nice dusty colour khakis. "I am excited. We will make front page together."

The photographer came back and was grinning deeply. "Perfect, perfect. Nico, great to see you. Very handsome, very, very handsome. Please, please, step by Miss Nonaka here. I trust you too are already aquainted?" Nico nodded. "Perfect, perfect. Now, make like a couple."

Rika blushed but covered it up immediately. "What?!"

"What is a photo without the love? Come, come, place your arms around each other and smile for the camera!"

**XXX**

To Rika's satisfaction, the photo shoot was finally done. She tiredly made her way to the dressing room when she over heard someone talking quietly about Digimon. Her curiousity got the better of her as she crept to the noise and hid behind a cardboard bush prop.

"In eleven days, it will be complete." The voice said. It was Mr Shimizu's voice.

"Yes. Then it will be ours." A scratchy voice replied. "For now, we will just go with the flow."

Rika slowly rose her head, hoping to see the other person talking. But no such luck. Mr Shimizu was standing with his back to her, looking into another change room. "Haha, they wont know what hit them. We might run into a few problems along the way. Nothing we can't handle though."

"Of course. No one can stop us now. Our plan is pure genious." The voice said. "We have to act fast though. Now let's go before we are over heard."

**XXX**

"Today was long and exausting." Rika said as she flopped onto the mini couch in the hotel room. "I will admit, I actually had a good time."

Jeri, who was sitting on the chair, giggled. "Were you with your Italian man?"

"He is not my man." Rika was regretting telling Jeri about meeting and spending the day with him. "But yeah. We had a shoot together." She closed her eyes and grinned. "We spent today together also." She sat up and looked at Jeri. "We are touring tomorrow also."

"Sounds like Rika has a crush," Jeri giggled. "Geeze Rika, I never pictured you to like an Italian man. Or any man for that." Rika rolled her eyes. "What's Ryo going to say if he find out you are spending all your time with your Italian friend?"

"_Ryo _is not going to know, because _we_ are not telling him." Rika said. Changing the subject, Rika asked, "so what did you guys do today?"

"Oh. We walked around and ate at a nice restaurant. Kazu and Kenta whistled at almost every girl that walked by. Amazing as it is, they even managed to get smacked by a guy for whistling at his girl. Those two will never learn," she sighed. Rika laughed.

"Hey Jeri? You don't think Digimon will attack here, do you?" Rika asked. She thought back to over hearing the discussion with Mr Shimizu. What ever Mr Shimizu was talking about bothered Rika.

"Don't be silly Rika. Why would Digimon attack here? It's been months since the D-Reaper and Digimon haven't bio-emerged." Jeri assured her. "What makes you ask?"

Rika frowned. "No reason. Well, I'm going to catch some sleep. Good night." She left before Jeri could pester her with more questions. She didn't want Jeri to know because, well, she didn't want to worry everyone. _And besides, what if their conversation had nothing to do with attacking Rome? _Rika asked herself. She threw on some pyjamas and crawled into her nice warm bed. _Digimon attack here? Jeri's right, Digimon haven't been seen since the D-Reaper._ She closed her eyes and fell asleep, replaying the overheard conversation in her mind.

A/N: Well, here's chapter four. It was long and probably got dull to you guys. I'm not the most exciting writer ever you know -winks-. Hope you enjoyed it. And thank you to **Freedom'sWarrior** for the short and sweet description of walking through the park and the description of how Italy feels to be walking through it. And thank you to my reviewers! Means a lot to have people enjoy my story. -smiles-. Anyways, chapter five will be coming soon. Saturday night at the latest. I have to work on chapter 2 of another story first. Next chapter there will be some romance, followed by Ryo's jealousy, and some suspicious behaviour with some characters. Also note, I really don't know what Italians sound like speaking Japanese. I did however watch the _Lizzie McGuire_ movie, which also took place in Rome. Didn't help any, LOL. Good movie though.

And let me do my story recognition. If you haven't read **The Older and Wiser Sage** I reccomend you do so. It's great.


	5. Fireworks and Digital Disasters

Ah so here it is, the long awaited chapter five. I will admit it is a bit dull but now you guys find out what is going on. Hehe. And there is a bit of OOC for Rika, but whatever -sticks tongue out-.

And as a response to **s.k.line** - well, I did watch Lizzie McGuire, yes. But honestly, I had no itentions to make it the same, LOL. It just came out that way.

And thank you to my readers, reviewers, and subscribers. Means a lot to me that you are actually enjoying this story! -smiles-

**Chapter Five** – **Fireworks and Digital Disasters.**

Everyone was startled when a cell phone rang. The room was extremely quiet, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Rika and Kazu locked daggers as they were in another one of their epic battles. Rika took a quick glance around the room, all eyes were on her, mainly because it was _her_ cell phone that went off and because they were confused, yet curious, who was calling her.

Rika gave Kazu another deathly glare before she answered her cell. "Hello?"

It was a males voice, and he sounded excited. "Hey Rika. How are you?" Before Rika could respond he continued talking. "I was wondering if you were interested in attending the firework ceremony."

Rika smiled as she realised it was Nico who had called. "Fireworks?" She thought for a moment. _It would be pretty fun to go, and I don't see the harm in it._ "Sure. When?"

On the other end of the phone, Nico gave a deep smile. "Tonight. It starts at midnight."

_Midnight?_ Her mother would never approve. She gave a loud sigh, "I'll call you back." She hung up and looked at her mother, who was looking back with a oh-my-god-you-have-a-date grin.

Rika cleared her throat. "May I, ahh, attend the fireworks with Nico?" The last part came out quiet.

Jeri giggled, "a date? Nothing more romantic then fireworks, right Takato?" Takato blushed and looked away. Ryo, who was obviously listening in, frowned.

"I don't think Rika should go. Midnight did you say? Too dangerous." Ryo's voice had a serious tone to it, though everyone knew it was hiding jealousy – well, everyone but Rika anyways.

"I don't need _your_ opinion, Akiyama." Rika snarled. "So, can I go?" She asked again, looking at Rumiko.

Rumiko smiled. "Of course! In fact, we should _all_ go!" Rika sweat dropped,_ great_.

"Yes! It gives us a chance to meet Rika's boyfriend!" Kazu grinned.

_Smack_

"He is not my boyfriend!" Rika roared. Kazu rubbed his now stinging cheek and muttered something under his breath.

Rika asked herself that question all the time. She didn't even know what Nico was to her. Sure they had met almost two weeks ago, and she had been spending every moment of everyday with him. But that didn't necassarily mean they were dating, did it? Rika quickly shook off the thought and flipped open her cell and dialed Nico's number.

"Glad you called back, Rika." Nico answered.

"Um. Yeah. I can go. But -"

Nico cut her off, "excellent! Shall I pick you up then?"

Rika frowned, "everyone is coming too. They want to meet you." _Unfortunatly._ Rika could hear Nico groan.

"Si, si. OK. I shall be seeing you a little sooner then, no? We could always meet with them."

"What time?" Rika wasn't too sure if she wanted to be picked up early. It was already nearing ten, she could wait a couple more hours before seeing him. Hell, she was with him all day._ How come he didn't ask me earlier?_

"Twenty minutes, si?" He sounded eager. Too eager.

Rika looked over to her mother, who was watching Rika with great interest. "Fine. But I need the address so I can tell my mother where it is."

Nico gave Rika the address and they hung up. "He is picking me up in twenty minutes."

Rumiko gave Rika a questioning look. "Why so early? Doesn't start until midnight."

Rika shrugged, "who knows. We will meet up though."

**xxVxx**

Rika waited at the front doors. The hotel had been extremely busy; workers rushing in and out, and tourists from many countries pilled in. Every now and then, what seemed to be a security guard strolled by. He was a tall man, and looked very built. He wore a navy blue top, and ironed navy blue pants. He wore a hat of those of a police officer and his face was plastered with a small mustache. He could have been a police officer, though he didn't have any gun on him; just a pouch and a club-stick. Rika really didn't care what he was, apart from labeling him as creepy. Every time he walked by he would look at her and grin. Rika shook her head and noticed Nico was coming up to the doors. He greeted her with a warm smile.

"I am very glad you decided to come, Rika."

Rika smiled in return, "yeah. Why did you want me to come early though?"

Nico put his arm through hers and they walked down the street. "To spend time with you, no?"

Rika frowned. "We spent two weeks together."

"Si! But I wanted extra fun tonight. Come Rika, we shall have fun before the fireworks." He pulled her into a small shop that Rika had seen millions of times before, though she never actually observed it. The place was fairly large. It had small squre wooden tables with four chairs crowding one part of the room. Towards the back more was a stage and some chairs and even smaller tables. To the right of the stage was a pool table and a dart board, and to the left of the stage were two doors; one with a female and one with a male. Clearly they were bathrooms. The mini bar – cafe was pretty busy. _They must all be getting intoxicated for the fireworks_, Rika thought.

Nico headed to an empty table and pulled a chair out for Rika. Rika sat down and Nico sat across from her, and smiled.

"Um. Nico, I am a little young to be in a bar." She said.

"Ah, of course. But we are models, no? And models are celebrities, no? And celebrities can do anything." He chuckled at Rika's worried look. "It will be fine. Just one drink." _One drink always leads to more_, Rika thought bitterly. But what the hell, just one couldn't possibly hurt.

A waitress dressed extremely trampy – in Rika's opinion – walked over to them. She had a bored smile on her face. "And what can I get you two to drink?" She asked in an Italian voice. Rika understood most of the words. Nico had been teaching her a bit of Italian, in return for her to teach him better Japanese. Nico answered her and she left without another word.

"Just one."

"Hmm?"

"Just one drink," Rika said. Nico laughed and nodded.

After a few, very long moments, the waitress returned with two wine glasses and a bottle. Nico filled both glasses up almost half way and smiled. "Cheers." He had taken a gulp. Rika brought the glass to her lips and thought better of it. _He could try to do something if I got drunk. But he could have already hurt me. He had many chances. _Rika was unsure of what to do. She didn't want to drink and get addicted. But she didn't want to be rude either. Nico was watching her with interest. Sighing, Rika took a gulp – realising it was a mistake to do so. The wine was cold and tasted very bitter. As she swallowed, it stung the back of her throat with a heated disire to take another sip. So she did. Nico laughed at the sight.

"Don't drink it so fast, Rika. It's not good for you if you do." He took a sip of his this time.

Rika looked at him, then at her glass. It was almost empty. She wanted more though. She reached for the bottle and poured in some more until the glass was half full. Nico refilled his, and with another clank of their glasses, they drank. Rika could feel her head start to lighten. She wanted to stop drinking but couldn't control it. In less then an hour they would be meeting her mother. What would she say if Rika was walking around Italy drunk? Clearly Rika would be sent home. She looked over at Nico. Her vision was a tiny bit blurry.

"Rika? I believe it is time we should head to the fireworks, no?" He looked at his watch. "They start in thirty minutes." He placed some Euros on the table and helped Rika up. She stumbled a bit. Nico put his arm around her waist and walked with her. Well, more like helped her walk. She was so uncoordinated. Her mind was racing and her vision was blurred. She didn't even remember being there for an hour and a half. It was mind boggling, really. Hell, to Rika, whatever Nico was saying was mind boggling. She could listen to him, nor could she anything. She was drunk and she knew it. _Just great, now what's everyone going to say? And how come Nico isn't as bad? _ She stopped her thinking when she tripped and hit the ground hard. It took Rika a few minutes to let it sink in that she actually _did_ hit the ground.

Rika mumbled a tiny 'ow' while Nico helped her to her feet. This wasn't her night. She had never been drunk before. Heck, she didn't know if she actually _was_ drunk, _maybe just a bit intoxicated? _Being dizzy didn't help her much.

Nico lead Rika through some allies and then through a small plaza courtyard. The courtyard was large and had three very tall water fountain statues. Though Rika couldn't tell what of. The courtyard was full of people. All of them making noise. Rika's head began to burst. A headache so severe Rika wanted to jump into the fountain and drown herself. She didn't like the druken feeling one bit.

"Nico?" Rika whispered. She couldn't focus her attention on him and didn't hear a word he said. She just looked straight ahead like it was a movie or something. "Please don't let my mother find out I am drunk."

"Si. I give you my word, Rika." He bent down and gently placed a kiss on her cheek. She would have blushed if she could manage to do so. Nico looked down at her and smiled. Truely amazing sight. Rika was standing there swaying. Nico stood behind her and placed his arms around her waist. She stiffened a little, but then relaxed.

"Aww, cute!" A voice behind them said. Rika managed to process the voice and knew very well it was coming from none other then Jeri. "Wow, Rika. You lied to us. 'He is not my boyfriend'."

Rika grunted. She had the fear of opening her mouth for two reasons. One, she didn't want anyone to smell the bit of wine breath, _should have eaten the bread on the table_, she thought. And two, she didn't want to vomit. _Vomiting would be nice though, atleast I wouldn't feel as sick._

Everyone gathered around and Kazu glanced at Rika. She looked at him and was about to say something but Ryo interupted.

"Rika?" He growled. "I need to talk to you." Rika looked up at him. He was standing in front of her with his hands on his hips and a scowl across his face. Rika nodded and took a step from Nico, stumbling on her way. Ryo quickly grabbed her and lead her away from prying ears. "What the hell!" He roared.

Rika was still swaying a bit. She leaned up against his chest and rested there. Ryo placed one hand on her back and another on her shoulder. He looked into her eyes. His face showed no amusement on it. It was no surprise to Rika, she knew he would be mad.

"Why?" Was all he managed to ask. Ryo was mad, of course, and disappointed. Rika's actions just did not seem like something she would do. He also couldn't help but feel guilty. She was drunk, and it was Nico's fault. But Ryo wasn't there to stop any of it from happening. And Rika's own uncharacteristic-ness just made him feel even more pissed off. After the D-Reaper he made a vow to Rika, a vow to be there for her. He broke that promise.

Rika's eyes began to water. In what seemed like ages, she wanted to cry. She fought the tears from coming down, but couldn't stop the sobs. "I'm sorry." Ryo never said anything. Rika thought he might not have heard. Placing her hands on each of his shoulders, she reached up so her mouth was close to his ear, "I'm so sorry."

Ryo had heard the first time. Hearing Rika apologize wasn't normal. He couldn't help himself but to scream at her. "What were you thinking, Rika?" Other voices around drowned out his words. He squeezed her shoulder and moved his face closer to hers so their noses almost touching. He could just barely smell the alcohol on her breath. "Rika. He isn't even drunk. He could have done something to you. And you wouldn't have been able to fight back."

Rika nodded. The thought crossed her mind as well. Nico was capable of hurting her, but instead he helped her walk. In Rika's book, he was a perfect gentleman. And appose to him not being drunk, maybe he didn't get drunk as fast as her. Then again, she drank more then him. A lot more.

Noticing Nico come up, Ryo looked at Rika once more and walked away. He would have given anything in the would to punch that no-good grinning jerk in the face. But he didn't touch him, or say anything to him. Ryo just walked on by.

"Ah Rika. Conversation did not go to well, no?" He asked her as he placed his arms back around her. She shook her head. "Well, he seems like a jerk anyways. Come, the fireworks are about to start in five minutes. Let us get a better spot."

Nico placed an arm through Rika's and lead her through the crowd and past the fountains. Rika's face curled into a frusterated look as she and Nico walked by some very drunk men, all of whom, whistling at Rika. Nico only chuckled and continued walking. They made their way down some marble steps and into a very small court. It was about the size of a tennis court with a small fountain located in the centre. Stone benches alined the fountain and flowers decorated the rest of the place. Unlike the larger courtyard, this one was quiet.

Rika sat down on a small bench and Nico stood in front of her smiling. "Three minutes," he said, looking at his watch. "I guess it's time to tell you now." His voice no longer carried his broken Japanese accent, but a very thick, perfect tone. He looked around the court, then back at Rika. "Three minutes, Rika, it will all be over."

Rika had no idea what he was talking about, and nor did she care much. Nico continued talking, but in a lower voice. "I had you played from the very begining." He said. "You were easy to manipulate. What was it? The accent? Or the way I was a perfect gentleman?" He laughed. "You are an idiot. I played you like a game of Tetris; fit you into all the right spots."

Rika looked up at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Rika. I made you tell me everything. About yourself, about your friends, about your _Digimon_." He looked at his watch again. "Less then two minutes." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small switch blade. "I'm sorry Rika, I truely am. But orders are orders. I have to kill you. Eliminate you."

"Why? I trusted you!" Rika screamed.

A shadow near the stairs caught Nico's attention. He looked but nothing was there. _Probably just a cat or something,_ he thought angerly. He turned his attention back to his target. "I know. And unfortunately for you, no one is here to help you." Nico looked around again and smiled. "Getting you drunk worked out pretty frickin' fine, did it not? You are too unsteady to help yourself fight, and Ryo, precious Ryo, is not here. He's mad at you, you know?"

"I don't need anyone to help me," Rika snarled. She stood up and took a swing at Nico, who easily knocked her away with a blow to the stomach. She doubled over in pain.

"I liked you Rika. Trust me, I really did." He looked up into the sky. The moon was shining bright, and the night was cloudless. Nico grinned. "Less then one minute, Italy is officially ours to conquer." He flicked the blade open to his knife and brought it down viciously at Rika.

**xxVxx**

"I can't believe it," Ryo said, shaking his head. "What the hell is wrong with her?"

Kazu looked at Ryo with a concerned look. "Maybe Nico played her."

Ryo looked at him with a confused looked. "Played her?"

Kazu nodded. "Yeah. What if he got her drunk so you would get mad at her, therefore he could do whatever he pleases."

"He doesn't know me, I can't see that happening."

"Just think about it man, what if he is up to something."

Ryo laughed, "like what? Total destruction of Italy? Come off it. Rika likes him."

"And trusts him," a voice said. Ryo turned to look. It was Henry. "The two left right after you walked back to us."

Ryo's eyes lit up, "which way did they go?"

Henry pointed past the fountains. "That way." Ryo started to leave but Henry grabbed him. "I know she isn't herself. He could possibly be up to something with her, Ryo. And God help him if he lays one hand on her. But Ryo, don't kill him, okay?" Ryo nodded and ran.

Of all his luck, they had to take off past all these drunken idiots. It was overly crowded and nearly impossible to push through. A few guys knocked Ryo across the head for pushing them. He didn't care though, he needed to see what Nico was up to. He rounded a corner and neared some stairs. He could hear some talking over top of his panting. It was Nico.

Cautiously walking down the flight of marble stairs, he listened in as best as he could but couldn't hear a damned thing, due to his heavy breathing and because Nico decided to voice his words more silently. Ryo watched intently. He had seen Nico reach into his pocket and pull something. Ryo could see Rika's face switch from calm to angry. Nico's head turned Ryo's way, and he took a few steps up the stairs and into the shadow. Like hell he wanted to be seen.

After several seconds, Ryo tip-toed down the stairs and watched them. His eyes lit up in shock as Rika took a blow to Nico, who punched her square in the stomach. _Was he trying to rape her?_ Ryo didn't know or care, he ran at Nico just in time to see him flick open a knife and drive it down at her. Before the knife touched her flesh, Ryo tackled Nico, and hard.

Nico grunted as his back his the ground with a thump, his knife flying beside him. Ryo was on top of him, and punched him in the face. Nico roared in pain as Ryo hit him again, harder then the last. Without hesitation, Nico grabbed for his knife and slashed Ryo across the chest. It was Ryo's time to shout out in agony as the sliver blade made contact with his chest, leaving a deep cut in its place. Ryo grabbed Nico's arm before he came back with another go.

Rika, who was watching helpless, decided to do something. She stumbled over to Ryo and pulled him off of Nico. Then, with all her might, she kicked Nico in the side. Ryo would have laughed at him if this wasn't such a serious situation. Grabbing Rika's arm, he lead her back to the bench and sat her down.

"Think this is funny, do you?" Nico growled. "I'll kill you both."

"What happened to your broken Japanese?" Ryo eyed him.

Nico tightened his grip on the knife. "Haha. I am not Italian." Nico charged at Rika, blade out in front of him, but stopped in his tracks. The fireworks began to shoot off, and Nico started laughing hysterically. "I'm going to kill you both. And since I look injured, I'm going to run back to your little friends and put on an act that we were attacked but you both were murdered."

Ryo grit his teeth. There was no way in hell he was going to die because of that moron. And as things couldn't get worse, Nico ran at him, his blade still in his hand. Ryo ducked out of the way but wasn't fast enough. Nico had sliced above his shoulder. Blood trickled out.

Ryo punched in the face again, and Nico fell back from the impact. The different colour lights from the fireworks made Nico's grim expression look horrific. _He's frickin' crazy,_ Ryo said inwardly. Nico attacked again with the knife, but Rika stopped him. She was holding his arm down with both of her own. Ryo seized the oppertunity to uppercut him. They heard a loud crunch sound as Nico's jaw broke. Rika let him go, and he collasped to the ground.

Breathing heavily, Ryo grabbed Rika and pulled her behind him. They headed for the stairs to make track as far away from there as possible, but a booming voice called out to them

"Hold it right there!"

They looked to see who it was. To Rika's surprise, and relief, it was the security guard who was eyeing her eariler. The security guard was standing on top of the stairs, club stick in hand. He was beating his palm with the stick as he walked down the stairs. The illuminating lights of the fireworks flashed his eerie face.

Ryo knew damn well that they were done for. Rika was in no position to fight and hell, he just beat the crap out of Nico with a lot of effort. If this guy is against him, then they might as well say their prayers now.

"You're not going anywhere," he smiled.

Rika noticed that there was a man behind him. Not just any many but Mr Shimizu. He was wearing his usual black outfit and his face looked distorted.

"What the hell is going on?" Ryo roared. Rika stood behind him, placing a hand on his back. She peeked over his shoulder to see Mr Shimizu and the guard laughing.

Mr Shimizu looked at Ryo, "what's going on? Surely you figured a bit of it out?" Ryo didn't answer. "We are taking over Rome."

Rika gasped. She recalled the phone conversations that she overheard. _How could I be so stupid? Ugh! I should have told Henry or Ryo for that matter. _She shook her head. "Why? Why the _hell_ do you want Rome?"

This time it was the guard to speak, "you're very stupid. The Colosseum. We can use that to open a portal to the Digital world." He chuckled. "Our army is already set. And we would be on our way there if that pathetic excuse for a Digimon would have killed you."

Ryo and Rika both looked over at Nico. He was still laying on the ground and breathing very slowly. "He's a Digimon?" Ryo asked.

Mr Shimizu nodded. "A human – Digimon. He has a thing called Spirit Evolution." (A/N: if you bothered to read this far, I just have to say: thank god for the Spirit Evolution. Makes this story simplier in my opinion. OK, let's continue, almost over -grins-)

"What's that? A bio-emerge?" Rika asked Mr Shimizu.

He nodded. "Well, now that we are up to date what is happening, it's time to finish you off."

Mr Shimizu pulled out a device, one like the Tamers' themselves had. Only this one was tall and skinny, not short and plump. He raised it out in front of him and a glowing pink light surrounded his entire body. He screamed in agony as his body began to mutate into a form of a pink Digimon. After moments, the blinding pink light disapperared. A creature took its place.

It was pink and had sythe like arms. Blue hair as long as its body ran off its back, and a blue star-shaped symbol was shining on its fore-head. It gave a loud roar and ran at them. It's sythes raised high ready to slice down on them.

Rika wrapped her arms around Ryo and gave a squeeze. It was going to be their last few seconds together. She regretted everything wrong in life. As she watched the Digimon run at them, she couldn't help but to think what it would have been like never being involved with Digimon. The blades then lowered, followed by a shout of attacking command.

"Blade Twist-"

"Desolation Claw!"

A large beam of energy shot down in front of them. Missing Ryo and Rika by inches. The beam made contact with the ground and Ryo and Rika were sent flying back a few feet. Dust covered the area where the nicely done marble ground once was.

"Deolation Claw!" Through the dirt they could see a large beam head straight to where the pink Digimon was standing. A loud cry of pain informed them that the Desolation Claw had hit.

When the dirt cleared Cyberdramon was standing infront of the pink Digimon, holding back it's claws. The guard saw his chance to attack and ran at Cyberdramon with his club stick. Acting out of instinct, Cyberdramon picked up the Digimon and swung him around, hitting the guard. He relased the Digimon and it and the guard totaled backwards into the fountain.

"Enough of this. Let's go. We are behind schedule. We will kill them later." The Digimon snarled.

"But Kyukimon, we can't just leave them. They know too much." The guard said.

"I know that but we need to hurry." Kyukimon said impatiently. "The Data Field will close soon and we need to get to the Digital world." The guard nodded and ran to Nico. He picked him up and the three took off, without looking back.

Ryo stood up, giving Rika a helping hand. Rika stood and wiped the dirt off of her clothes and turned to face Ryo. "Thank you." She said. He nodded. "I didn't actually think you would come."

Ryo laughed. "I told you I would always be there for you. And honestly, you were drunk and I thought he was going to rape you." Rika raised an eyebrow. "It's not an excuse by the way."

"Whatever."

"Hey Cyberdramon, thanks for the quick appearance. You came when we needed you the most," Ryo said happily. The Digimon grunted.

"Ryo. You are in a lot of danger. There is an army of over five thousand Digimon preparing to attack here," Cyberdramon informed him.

Ryo scratched his chin, "why are they attacking Italy of all places?"

"I don't know, but we need to find out fast. I will go back to the Digital world and inform everyone you are alright."

Ryo nodded. "Becareful." Cyberdramon grunted again and took off.

"Wow, that's the most I've ever heard him speak," Rika muttered. Ryo laughed.

"Yeah, he can be quite shy, I guess." He looked down at his shirt. It was blood stained, but the good news was that he wasn't bleeding anymore. "Nothing a few stitches can't cure."

Rika smiled. "Let's get back to the others. It's been one hell of a night."

**Authors Note: **Sorry about the extremely long wait. No excuses for it, apart from the fact I just didn't feel like writing, LOL.

I hope you some-what liked this chapter. It was long and probably very boring. And too bad I killed off Nico's good-side character. It was my plan all along, though, I did like that guy. He was nice, haha.

**By the way, I in fact, have not read over this chapter. So any mistakes and errors of any kind are completely due to my laziness.**

Next chapter is dedicated to complete Ryuki-ness. So stick around! 

And story recoginition goes to **Narissa **with her awesome T**amers Sagas - Crescendo** and its sequal **Code Carter **(Ryuki stories.) Great stories, I hope she updates Code Carter -shakes fist-


	6. The Truth

Disclaimer: I Do NOT own Digimon or the characters ... apart from Nico and Mr Shimizu and the security guard from the last chapter. I own those three characters and the plot!! And incase it isn't obvious, I don't own Italy, ROFL

Sorry for the VERY late chapter. Things had come up and I was extremely busy. But I hope this chapter will make it up to you readers -smiles-. Also, thank you to all who have read this story (I've had 978 hits!! WOOT!), added this story to their subscriptions and favourites, and to those who have commented.

Just a recap on what is happening:

Rika's mother was given a photoshoot in Italy and was allowed to drag Rika and her friends along. On the second day of the trip Rika had met a too-good-to-be-true kind of guy; Nico. Whilest Rika was with Nico, Ryo developed some jealousy towards them. During their days together, Rika had been telling Nico all about her Digital Adventures. In the last chapter we had learned that Nico and Mr Shimizu were plotting to take over Italy at midnight. But their plans never carried on, due to Ryo.

So that about sums it up, rofl. Hope you enjoy this chapter! **There is swearing in this chapter!!**

By the way! My old name went from **Kaoru2585** to **SpookyButt**, incase it wasn't obvious -winks-.

**Chapter 6 – The Truth**

Rika folded her arms and glared at Kazu. They were stuck in the hotel that day due to massive rain. Like usual, Kazu had said something to greatly piss Rika off. Henry had his hand on her shoulder as to tell her to calm down. _Calm down?_ There was no possible way she could _calm_ down after what he had said. If it wasn't for the fact Rika had a terrible headache, she would have thrown him off the top of the hotel. Rika and Kazu locked eyes in a deep glare, which sent sparks into the air.

"R-Rika?" Jeri studdered quietly. She was the first to speak in what seemed like hours – which were mere minutes in reality. Tears glisened her eyes as Takato wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Clearly Takato was frusterated too, as his face was demented into a frown.

The tension grew in the room. Everyone stood around Rika and Kazu, well, everyone but Ryo. Everyone was afraid of what to say, they knew what Kazu said was true, hell even Ryo knew, that's why he stormed out. Jealousy and rage had gotten the better of him so he slammed the door to the hotel room as he left.

Rumiko darted her eyes back and forth, from Rika to Kazu and back to Rika. Even Rika's grandmother was scared to say anything. Finally Kazu dropped his gaze and spoke – his voice filled with anger but guilt. "Rika ... I'm sorry." Rika's eyes filled with tears of hurt and hatrid as her hand made contact with the side of his face. He let out a yelp of surprise and pain, which caused everyone to jumped because of how hard Rika had hit and how loud Kazu screamed.

Rika had readied herself to smack him again, but her hand never made contact with skin. Henry grabbed onto her arm before it reached his face. She turned to glare at him and his face was visible with dissapointment. A tear managed to slip down Rika's face, which was rubbed away almost instantly. Kazu touched his cheek, it stung him horribly to do so. "Kazu ... I-I hate you."

Rumiko's jaw dropped, "you can't possibly mean that, Rika!"

Rika shook her head and faced her mother, frowning. "I mean it. And I will never stop meaning it." She pulled her arm out of Henry's hand and headed for the door. She stopped and faced them once more before leaving. "I hate _all_ of you. Just leave methe hell _alone_."

**xxxvxxx**

The rain had died down a bit. Sprinkles of water touched Rika's nose. She had left the hotel with out looking back, heck, she didn't even know if she truly wanted to go back. She was angry with Kazu – no, with everyone. Kazu had meant his words and it tore Rika in half.

The streets were filled with people ridding their boredom by shopping. Every so often a car would drive down the one-way street, splashing water as it passed. Rika walked on, and just kept walking. She had no idea where she was heading, and had no idea if she would remember her way back to the hotel. The whole ordeal was just to frusterating to her to even think straight. She knew very well she would pay the consequences of what she had said when she gets back to her room. Not that it even mattered. None of their opinions mattered to her anymore. She was just done with them, plain and simple.

A car honked as Rika walked across the street in front of it. _Getting hit would have been nice_, she thought bitterly. But of course, she wasn't hit, just pelted with water, soaking her right side. The water was cold, and made her clothes stick to her skin, but she continued to walk until she reached a very small sitting park. She recalled being there before; Nico had shown her the place. But because of the weather, it wasn't exactly beautiful today. And given the time in the afternoon, the park was empty. Well almost empty; a couple sat hand in hand on a park bench, faces pressed against each other.

Rika let out a sigh and slowly walked over to a nearby tree. She sat down on the damp grass and cringed in pain. Her head was killing her, which evadently, was her own fault. Her eyes locked onto a small pond where a mother and her duckling were quacking at each other. Rika gave a half smiled and closed her eyes.

A storm cloud rolled in, and it began to pour. Rika was drenched in seconds but she didn't care. With all the hurt, anger, and frusteration ripping her to pieces, nothing else in the world mattered. She could get mugged at that very second and still not care. Her world ended with the touch of Kazu's words. _Kazu, that god-damned moron! _More tears escaped Rika. Imagine, the Ice Queen crying. _The Ice Queen, heh, it's all I'll ever be. _For the second time in her life, she let her emotions take control of her body. The only other time that happened was when Renamon was taken back into the Digital World for good. Renamon; her best friend. _Some best friend, she's not even here when I need her. _Hell nobody is there, nobody is ever there when Rika needed them. She was alone, alone before, alone now.

The thoughts of all the events from yesturday and today, raced through Rika's mind. She couldn't rid them, it was impossible. But she wanted to. Rika wanted to pretend nothing had happened. If she could change it, she damn well would. But the events were real. The actions were real. It was just real. And it was his fault. Nico's fault. All of it was. But why couldn't she bring herself to blame him? They were in Italy for a measily two weeks. Two! Could she have developed feelings for him? No, impossible. Her heart was set on Ryo. Ryo – who now offically hates her.

Why couldn't she stop everything that happened before it had. Would she have? Would anyone have? It's Italy for God sakes, wasn't she allowed to be free? Do what she wanted to? Sure drinking isn't exactly being free, but was it too hard for everyone to understand that she wanted to? Have fun for once. No! _Of course not. Ice Queens are _never_ allowed to have fun. _But Rika _did_ have fun. But the guilt was killing her. It pained. It felt worse then her energy being driven into Justimon when she was Sakuyamon.

Rika opened her eyes and peered around. The rain was still coming down, but not hard anymore. It was a relief. That's all she needed – pneumonia. Get sick and die, though no one would care. It was getting pretty late, close to dinner. She had been sitting out in the rain for a few hours.

A hunger pain lurged into Rika's stomach, making a loud and clear grumble. Rika winced at the pain, she hadn't eaten at all that day. Closing her eyes once again, she replayed the images of the previous day through her mind.

"_Three minutes, Rika, it will all be over." _

"_I liked you Rika. Trust me, I really did." He looked up into the sky. The moon was shining bright, and the night was cloudless. Nico grinned. "Less then one minute, Italy is offically our to conquer." He flicked the blade open to his knife and bright it down viciously at Rika. _

Rika's eyes shot open. She could picture it so clearly. He was about to kill her but yet she isn't blaming him for anything that went on? _Okay Rika, you've now offically lost it. _She groaned in annoyace. "It's all my fault."

"What do you mean, Rika?" A cool voice said from the other side of the tree.

**xxxvxxx**

"Do you think Rika will forgive us?" Jeri asked. They were still sitting in the hotel room, gathered around. It had been three hours since Rika had left, yet no one had dared to say anything.

Henry answered her calmly. "We don't need to ask for forgiveness. She was the one who said she hated us, remember."

Jeri sobbed, of course she remembered. But she knew Rika never meant it so harsh, she was just frusterated.

Takato let out a sigh and all heads turned to him. "Well, not much we can do really. Rika probably wont be back until we are all asleep, and Ryo. Well, he's old enough to take care of himself. I say we just go out for a walk or go for some dinner. I'm starved."

Rumiko nodded. "Yes, but I'm afraid. What if that boy comes back after Rika?"

"Judging by the description Ryo gave us, it seems that Nico is pretty injured." Henry said.

"Rika is a crazy but tough cookie, she can handle herself." Kazu said. "I just ... I regret saying that to her." His head dropped. "I never thought she would get so mad at that."

"It's Rika we are talking about, she gets mad at everything you and Kenta say," Takato half laughed. "She'll get over it. And hopefully Ryo will too."

Everyone nodded. "Hey, Takato?"

"Yeah Kenta?"

Kenta straightened his glasses as he spoke, " would it be alright if we bunk with you guys tonight."

"I ... ahh ... yeah sure, if it's okay with you, Henry?"

Henry nodded, "Ryo will probably need his space tonight anyways. Now both of you pack up so we can go get some dinner." He reached in his pocket and pulled out a cellular phone. "I need to call my dad, and have him warn Yamaki about what happened."

Henry left the room and dialed his fathers number. "Hello?"

"Hey dad, it's me."

"Oh, Henry! Glad to hear from you. What's up?" His dad asked.

Henry gave a sigh and explained to his father all about what happened last night. His dad was quiet the whole time. "So if this Shimizu guy is really up to something, we need to be prepared."

"I agree. I will also inform the other monster makers of this ... Spirit Evolution?" He thought for a moment. "Never heard of it before. I'll call Yamaki right away."

Henry smiled, "great. Have Yamaki try to get our Digimon back for us. We sure is hell are going to need them for this battle. Cyberdramon said over five thousand Digimon. Way out of our league."

His father agreed with him and told him to be as safe as possible and not to wander off alone. After several minutes of telling him how his trip was, Henry hung up and went back into the room to wait for Kazu and Kenta.

**Xxxvxxx**

Rika didn't need to look to know who it was. The voice belonged to Ryo Akiyama. He sat down beside her but never looked at her. "How is it your fault?"

She shrugged and looked back at the pond, "maybe I shouldn't have hung out with him. He was so nice though." She couldn't believe herself when she said that. It was quiet for several moments before Rika broke the silence, "I'm sorry Ryo."

"For?"

Rika let out a sigh, "if I wasn't so careless you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

"It was your _carelessness_ that lead us to finding out Nico's plans though. If the events never happened, Italy would have been demolished," he reassured her. Rika smiled. "And besides, it felt fucking good beating the crap out of him."

Rika gave a half laugh, "yeah, it did." She stole a quick glance at him. He was looking straight ahead still. He was frowning. After Rika's words they didn't speak. They sat in complete silence. Rika watched as some robins landed on the grass just feet ahead of them. Their tiny little beaks pecking into the ground, hunting for some food. The moment was awkward and Rika knew Ryo was too thick headed to say something first.

She shifted her body and turned to look at him. Slapping him in the chest where his cut was, she smiled. "So does it hurt?"

He groaned, "like you wouldn't believe."

"Does it hurt when I slap it?" She asked innocently.

"Yes."

She grinned. "Good. You deserve it."

He was taken back by that. "What did I do?"

Rika raised her finger in a 'tisking' motion. "You never came after me right away."

Ryo knew she was referring to not coming after her when her and Nico left the others. He sighed and looked at her, "so? Maybe I thought you wanted time with your boyfriend."

Rika frowned, "whatever." She said. Folding her arms, she looked over at the pond again.

Ryo chuckled and leaned closer to her, "I'm just teasing you." She blushed and pushed him away. "Getting a little red in the face, are we?"

"Shut up." She said annoyed. He laughed again. They were silent again until Rika brought up a question that was bugging her. "So you aren't mad at me?"

Ryo rubbed his hand through his hair, "I was when I stormed off. But then just laughed it off later."

Rika nodded. "So why did you come after me last night?"

Ryo was a bit surprised by the question since she asked it the previous night. "I thought he was going to harm you."

She shook her head, "you're a liar. Tell me the _real _reason."

That was his real reason for going to get her, but Ryo knew she wasn't satisfied with the answer. "I wanted to protect you." She rolled her eyes, "because I care about you, Rika." He grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. He placed his arms around her waist to hold her there. Rika struggled but then relaxed. With a heartful voice, he whispered into her ear, "because I love you."

**xxxvxxx**

"Riley, do you have the reports for me?" An annoyed Yamaki asked. He was pacing back in forth on the tenth floor of the Hypnos building. Due to the damage and money spent on the D-Reaper, Hypnos wasn't funded as much, therefore recieving information had taken three times as long to recieve.

The purple-haired women answered quickly, "still working on it, sir." She typed speedily at her computer. Yamaki swore. "Sorry sir, but our technology isn't so great anymore."

Yamaki nodded and flipped open his cell phone. "Dolphin, have you gotten ahold of all the makers yet?" He asked impatiently.

"Not yet, Yamaki. Some have gone on vacation." He replied calmly. "And I have been working on a man-made portal, along with Shibumi."

"Well hurry it up then. We don't know when these things are going to attack." He hung up and dialed a new number. "Tally!"

"Y-yes sir?" A hesitant voice came.

"Have you gotten ahold of Italy's President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister is the English way of saying it)?" He asked.

"Yes sir, they laughed at us though." She answered.

Yamaki growled. "Well, are they going to prepare for it or not?"

"No sir."

Yamaki took off his sunglasses and rubbed his eyes. "Whatever, if Italy gets destroyed before the kids' Digimon get there, then it's their fault." He hung up before Tally could reply.

**Xxxvxxx**

Rika's stomache gave another growl as her and Ryo walked out of the park. Ryo was rubbing his face as Rika was smirking. _He's such a liar_, she said to herself. After Ryo had confessed, Rika slapped him – which only made him smile to see her blush for the second time that night.

It was nearing sundown so they decided to grab a bite to eat before heading back to the hotel. Ryo convinced Rika to go to a small restaurant which himself and the others went to a few nights before. What the Tamers had found out was the place was meant for couples at a candle light dinner, but Rika didn't know that (haha). They turned around a corner and Ryo almost got whiplashed from being tugged so hard. Rika had yanked him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him into a very shadowy alleyway, filled with bad smelling garbage cans.

"Rika, what the hell are you doing?" He asked frowning. He rubbed his neck where the shirt rubbed against it. "Trying to choke me?"

"Shut up and hide," she snapped. Rika bent down and hid behind a trash can. She pulled Ryo down with her and wrinkled her nose at the smell. "It's the others."

"So?" He was confused.

"_So _I am not in the mood to get the third degree from my mother or grandmother," she whispered. Ryo was about to ask why but Rika placed a hand over his mouth. They watched as the five kids and two adults walked by the alley way. Once Rika was sure they were long gone, she stood up and walked to the edge of the alleyway, peering around the corner. With a satisfied look on her face, she continued walking down the street. Ryo had to jog to catch up.

"So why are you going to get yelled at?" He asked.

Rika stopped in her tracks and looked at him from the corner of her eye. "I told them I hate them." She continued walking again.

Ryo frowned and lead her to the restaurant. Holding the door for her, he asked, "why did you say that?"

Rika shrugged, "I was mad at them. Not like I mean it. Well, to Kazu and Kenta I do."

The two made their way to the very back of the restaurant. A petite women came and handed them menus as another women who looked to be about fifty, came and poured them some water. A violinist played music walking around the resturaunt as couples exchanged stories. Ryo smiled, "so I guess this is our first date, huh?"

Rika kicked him under the table as she looked at her menu, "so who is going to pay for this? I don't feel like washing dishes."

Ryo smacked his pockets for his wallet. Finding it, he pulled it out and counted his Euro. "Well, I've got about 125 Euro on me. So, I will pay for dinner."

Rika smirked, "so I should get the most expensive thing then?"

Ryo laughed, "get whatever you want, my treat."

After a few minutes the waitress who gave them menus came back. Taking their menus and placing them under her arm, she pulled out a notepad and pen. "What can I get you?" She asked in her sweet Italian voice.

Rika thought for a moment, "spaghetti and meatballs please."

"Same." Ryo said.

The waitress looked confused but still smiled. Using her pen, she pointed at Rika, "spaghetti, si?" Rika nodded and she pointed at Ryo, "Sardinia?"

Ryo shook his head, "Spaghetti" The waitress nodded and left. Ryo ran his hand through his hair and smiled at Rika, unsure of what to say. Rika returned it with a dirty look as the older women came and lit a candle for them. Ryo thanked her in his best Italian voice he could, which sucked, making Rika laugh. "Candle light is romantic," he said. Rika rolled her eyes, and folded her arms.

"Why do I get the feeling you knew this was a cheesy romantic restaurant?" She asked.

"My, what ever do you mean, Rika? I had really no idea." He said innocently. Rika kicked him again as their food was being served.

**Xxxvxxx**

It was late by time Rika and Ryo left the restaurant. The street lights were on and it was drizzling out. Cars and Mopeds zoomed down the streets, and old couples walked hand in hand. A cool breeze washed over them every now and then, which sent shivers down Rika's spine. Everytime it happened, Ryo would try to put his arm around her – which ended up in horrid results.

They reached the hotel and huddled inside. Thank god we made it in before it poured, Ryo thought as he watched the rain pelt the doors and windows of the hotel entrance. Ryo glanced at the clock before they reached the elevator; 9:24pm. Exausted, they both headed down the hall after being taken to their floor. The two stopped outside Rika's room. "Well, good night, Rika." Ryo said. Rika twisted the handle to her door but it was locked.

"Err, Akiyama?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Let me guess, you are locked out of your room and you have no key, so you want to bunk with me for the night."

She nodded and looked at the ground, in a dissapointed kind of way. Ryo laughed. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he replied quickly. He grabbed her by the hand and walked to their room. He opened the door and walked to the sofa-bed – which was still open due to his laziness of not folding it back up that morning – and collasped. He patted the spot beside, "room for one more," he teased. She growled but sat on the sofa anyways. She was tired and it was a hell of a walk from the restaurant to the hotel.

"So which room do I get?" She asked.

Ryo thought for a nano-second, "the sofa bed. Kazu and Kenta sleep in the rooms. The sofa bed is pretty comfy though," he winked. Rika rolled her eyes for the thousandth time that day. "I'll sleep on the chair tonight."

"Whatever," she said. She threw off her socks and crawled to the front of the bed beside Ryo. Rika gave a hard tug at the blanket that Ryo was laying on – which caused him to fall off the bed – and wrapped it around herself. Using both pillows she made herself comfy, grinning.

"What am I supposed to use?" Ryo asked in disbelief, looking at Rika who was hogging all the comfort items.

"Improvise," she said. "But ... you have a very, very small brain, so I highly doubt you could do that. I'm sure your mommy still tucks you in at night."

Ryo's face dropped into a sad frown. "I don't have a mother," he said.

"Oh, sorry." Rika said, _like I knew_.

Ryo flopped on the bed and layed up against her; his chest to her back. "It's alright. Now give me a pillow." She shook her head and he grabbed one from under her. "Thanks." Moving himself to the other side of the sofa bed, Ryo layed his head on the pillow and fell into a relaxing sleep.

--

Mr Shimizu was standing on top of the hotel. His light jacket flapping in the wind. He was watching the sky turn into a crimson colour, a sly grin on his face. "Now, my baby, attack!"

**A/N: **Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I enjoyed writing it. I'm not too great at writing this lovey-dovey stuff so don't complain if it isn't good enough, lol. Also note that **I DID NOT READ OVER THIS CHAPTER,** aren't I a stinker -winks-. Oh and if you want to know what Kazu said to Rika, well I guess you are screwed, LOL! I don't even know, in a future chapter I might have Rika bring it up ... so for now, use your imaginations, hahahahahaha.

Please review! Or subscribe! Hehe.

**Also, does ANY one know where I can find all the Tamers episodes in Japanese with English sub?? I know YouTube has the first six episodes but I want them all! Please let me know through Private messaging. Thanks!**


	7. The Portal

**Chapter 7 - The Portal**

Rika sat up straight, sniffing the air. The air had become pungent with an unfamiliar smell to her. Twisting her face in disgust, Rika rolled over and shook the sleeping Ryo awake. Ryo moaned.

"What?"

"Do you smell that?" She asked, almost worried.

Ryo sniffed the air like what Rika had done moments ago. He nodded, "yeah. Kind of smells like ... a campfire?"

The concern in his voice startled Rika. "It smells worse than a campfire, bozo. Go check it out."

Ryo tossed his legs over the side of the pulled out couch and stood up. Stretching, he made his way to the door and touched the knob. He jumped back in surprise. "Rika, we need to get out of here, now!"

Rika scrambled out of bed, "why?"

Panic tied a knot in Ryo's throat. "I think the hotel is on fire."

**xxxVxxx**

"My daughter is in there!" Rumiko shouted, but her voice not being heard. Tears rolled down her cheeks like a tidal wave. "Someone help!"

Emergency personnel had blocked off the road of which the hotel was on. Sirens blared and lights flashed as firefighters tried to seize the blaze with little success. Thick, black smoke shrouded the sky for miles.

Takato hugged the crying Jeri, tightly. "It's going to be fine, Jeri. Please stop crying. I doubt Rika is in there."

"What about Ryo?" She sobbed. "He could be in there, too."

"I doubt that." He attempted to reassure her, but he, too, needed to be reassured. He stared worriedly at the hotel and watched as the flames slowly ate the vulnerable building, hoping and praying his two friends were not in there.

**xxxVxxx**

Masked behind the emerging smoke, Mr Shimizu watched in complete awe as the work of his most prized Digimon destroyed the hotel in minutes. His eyes wide and his face demented.

"Shimizu, my lord?" A voice fretted.

Mr Shimizu turned, "ah, SkullSatamon. Pleasure to make your acquittance. I presume everything is going well?"

The Digimon nodded, slinging his staff over his shoulder. "Yes, the portal is beginning to open." He foiled his wings and lowered his head, "however, there is one problem, my lord."

Mr Shimizu rose an eyebrow, "and that is?"

**xxxVxxx**

"Akiyama, there is no way I'm going to run through that!"

"Just trust me, Rika. I promise we'll be fine."

"Absolutely not!"

"Rika!" Ryo placed a damp towel over Rika's face and one over his own. He gave her an irritated look and she unwillingly held hers in place. He reached toward the door knob once more, placing a third damp towel on it. With his voice muffled, he yelled at Rika, "when I open the door, run left down the hall. I seen an emergency staircase that way."

Ryo twisted the knob and smoked rushed into the room. The flames roared louder and grew more rapidly. Rika speed down the hall and reached the emergency staircase and opened the door. Astonishment and horror swept over her as she came face to face with a dinosaur-like Digimon.

The Digimon grinned in pleasure. "I thought I smelled a Tamer."

**xxxVxxx**

"Yamaki," Riley shouted, "you're not going to like what I have just found."

"What is it?" Yamaki shouted back. "I don't have time for games, Riley."

"This isn't a game, sir. A portal has just opened in Italy. It opened sooner than we had anticipated." She told him.

Yamaki swore. "Where has it opened?"

Pressing buttons on her keyboard, Riley zoomed into the location of the portal. "It looks like it is opening above the Coliseum."

"What is the E.T.A of the Digimon?"

Riley shook her head. "It appears as though the Digimon are breaking through as we speak."

**xxxVxxx**

SkullSatamon grimaced as Kyukimon dug his blade deep into his chest. "I told you to kill the Tamers and their pathetic Digimon."

"I k-know, my lord, bu-but the Digimon have broken through the portal moments before we did. I don't know where the Tamers are."

Taking his blade out of SkullSatamon's chest, Kyukimon gritted his teeth, "find them and kill them, now!"

A/N: I know this chapter is poorly written but I needed something temporary so I can resume with writing this story. I haven't forgotten about it but I haven't exactly been bothered to write more the last two years. Forgive me, but I am now working on finishing this story and "To The Digital World Once Again".


	8. Invasion of Italy

_A/N: (: I love cliffhangers, don't you guys? And to make something clear, whenever there is a break between each character's POV ("xxxVxxx"), the events are happening within the same time frame. _

**Chapter 8 – The Invasion of Italy**

"The fire has spread across every level of the hotel, Chief. The building is about to collapse in just moments, we need to evacuate the immediate area." A charred fireman said.

The Chief nodded in response and spoke into his radio, giving a command. He looked back over to the families waiting down the street and jogged towards them, stopping abruptly; the once, tall and beautifully decorated hotel had begun to slowly collapse. Flames ate through the structured beams within minutes, oblivious to the water gushing upon them.

Firefighters hurried away from the building, flailing their arms and shouting Italian commands at those whom had been watching.

Nearby buildings, too, had been burning away from the great fire. Catching and burning anything it touches, like a vicious disease. After several terrifying and defeating moments, the hotel collapsed into nothing more but a burning pile of rubble.

**XxxVxxx**

"Yes, I understand, Yamaki, that there is a portal, but unfortunately there is nothing I can do." Mr Wong clenched his fist at his side. "We monster makers have no way of sealing this portal and as of last night, we had been working steadily on the _Spirit Evolution _andamanmadeportal. With little success, I might add."

Yamaki slammed his hands onto the desk, "with little success? We need those kids' Digimon now. We don't have time to work on this _Spirit_ _Evolution_. You told me your son said five thousand digital creatures are about to come through the portal. Well, this portal is open now. And so help me, God, that we do not have any way of concealing this problem."

Mr Wong shook his head, "I'll call Henry and ask what the situation is like in Italy."

"No need to," Riley chimed in. She walked over to Mr Wong and Yamaki, frowning. "We have estimated that approximately two hundred and ninety-three Digimon have already emerged into the real world."

"Dear God. How fast are they coming through?" Mr Wong asked.

Riley shrugged. "There's no estimate on that. It seems as though whatever can make it through the barrier between our world and theirs has come through. More are emerging as we speak."

Yamaki headed towards the door, "I'm going to Italy. Find out if those kids have had their Digimon come through a portal or not."

**xxxVxxx**

"Henry?"

"Dad?" Henry pressed a finger into one of his ears and his cellphone against the other. "I can hardly hear you; there is too much noise around. Is everything OK? Have you found out anything about the _Spirit_ _Evolution_?"

"Henry, what is going on?" Mr Wong shouted into the phone.

"There was a fire at the hotel, dad. Everyone is fine, _I_ _hope_," Henry incoherently added the last part. The truth was, he didn't know if any of his friends were safe. Because of the evacuation, he had been separated from everyone else. He ran aimlessly around the street, searching. "I'll call you back. I can hardly hear you."

Henry flipped his cellphone shut and hurried down the street. He pushed past several news reporters and a security guard. Stopping in his tracks, he recalled the events of last night and how Ryo mentioned a security guard was in on the attack with Shimizu and Nico. He turned to look.

"A Tamer?" The security guard said. "The boss ain't going to be so pleased seeing you around."

"What do you want with Italy?" Henry growled.

The security guard reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that. You and your friends will be long gone before then."

**xxxVxxx**

Rika listened to the sounds of water dripping into puddles. She listened for minutes before finally rolling over. The ground beneath her was cold and damp. She shot open her eyes and found Ryo laying face down with notable scratches and tears shredding through his clothes. A thick layer of soot covered his body from the ash of the fire.

She suddenly felt a tinge of pain strike through her body like lightning. She cringed in pain and looked down to see her shirt soaked with blood. She took off her shirt and examined the wound: a large cut ran from her lower left breast to her right hip. The blood glistened in the dim light.

"That's going to leave a mark," a female voice said. Rika pressed her shirt against her. Through the shadows came a tall and slim figure. "I thought the worst of Ryo and you. My apologies."

Rika left out a smile but it was wiped quickly from her face. "As to be expected of you, Renamon." Renamon nodded and kneed down beside Rika. "So how did we get out?"

**xxxVxxx**

"Henry! Henry, where are you?" Takato shouted. He and Jeri pushed their way through the crowd looking for Henry, whom was lost in the herd of fleeing citizens. Jeri had her hands clasped around Takato's as they searched. "Henry!"

"Do you think something happened to him?" Jeri asked, concerned.

"No," he said flatly.

Jeri gave Takato's hand a squeeze, "maybe he's back near the hotel waiting for us."

Takato shook his head, "no. He ran this way, I saw him. We just have to keep looking. And if these damn people moved out of the wa-"

"-hold it right there." A voice bellowed over the crowd. Everyone stopped moving and turned to look.

Takato gulped. "Oh, dear God."

**xxxVxxx**

The cellphone began to vibrate feet away from Henry's beaten body. Henry hastily stretched an arm out to grab it, but the security guard stepped on the phone, before stepping on Henry's hand.

"You're still not dead? Are you Tamers some kind of immortals? Or just the kind of people to piss me off?" The security guard roared. "I have other work to do, so just die." He pulled out his digivice and it began to glow. His body slowly began to change in front of Henry and where the once human guard stood now was a blue-armoured lion-like Digimon with white fur, holding a sword the length of its body.

The Digimon lowered its weapon down to Henry's throat. "Good-bye, annoying Tamer. Aurora Blaz-"

"Terrier Tornado!" A green tornado spun fast and knocked the Digimon off its feet. Terriermon stood in front of Henry, with his fists clenched, waiting for a fight. "Why don't ya pick on some-MON your own size!"

"Terriermon, don't make this guy even more upset," Henry warned, shaking his head. Remembering his D-Power, he pulled it out of his pocket and held it towards the enemy. The screen lit up and displayed information about the armoured-lion. "Spadamon, a warrior Digimon. His attacks are Sugar Pound, Blue Brave, and Aurora Blazer. Those attacks would sure knock your socks off."

Terriermon growled, "ready, Henry?"

Henry nodded. "Ready."

**xxxVxxx**

Skullsatamon hovered over Jeri and Takato, snickering. The horror in their eyes was amusing to him. "The boss is getting mad that you's kids are running away and ruining our plans."

"What do you want with us?" Takato shouted.

"Isn't that obvious?" Skullsatamon said, leaning his head to the right. "I want to kill you, quick and painfully."

"Save it, loser." Guilmon shouted. "Takato, are you alright?"

Takato smiled, "Guilmon! We're fine, but let's save the introductions for later. Are you ready to fight?" Guilmon gave a toothy grin. "Alright, let's Digivolve!" Takato pulled out a card from his back pocket and slid it through his D-Power. The card changed into blue and Guilmon began to Digivolve.

**xxxVxxx**

Ryo awoke, hacking out a lung. Rika sat next to him while Renamon was on lookout.

"Ryo! Are you alright?" Rika asked, rubbing his back.

Ryo glanced over at Rika and tried to smile. His eyes were blood shot red and watery. "Ye – yes, but.. I think.. I'm going to.. die from.. second hand smoke." He said between coughing.

Rika grinned, "you're an idiot."

"You love me," Ryo shot back. Rika flushed and looked away. "So how do we get out of here?"

"Renamon knows the way out," Rika explained. "She brought us here. Saved us from being murdered by that evil Digimon."

"And what about the others?"

Rika shook her head, "I don't know, but Renamon said Guilmon, Terriermon, and Cyberdramon have made it back to the real world. She never seen Guardromon, Lopmon or MarineAngemon."

Ryo frowned, "so if our Digimon have made it back, we can only safely assume that the portal is open."

"Correct," Renamon said, appearing in front of them. "The portal has been opened and the evil Digimon are now running through the city like wildfire."

"Where is Cyberdramon?" Ryo asked.

"Probably out looking for you," she replied. "Or fighting."

Ryo suppressed a laugh. "I can just about imagine the damage he has caused already. If he _is_ out fighting, I mean."

"Right, so by time we get out of here, Italy should be demolished. Great," Rika rolled her eyes. "So let's go and kick some digital ass!"

**xxxVxxx**

"Atomic Blaster!" WarGrowlmon unleashed his atomic bombs from his metal plating on his chest. The attack flew at Skullsatamon, who dodged it. Skullsatamon ran at WarGrowlmon with his staff raised above his head. WarGrowlmon let out another Atomic Blaster, nailing the ground in front of Skullsatamon. A shroud of dust stood between the two opposing Digimon.

"Foolish attack there, dinodumby." Skullsatamon taunted. "Bone Blaster!" The jewel from his staff ignited and a power beam of fiery light shot towards WarGrowlmon. With the dust still thick, WarGrowlmon barely seen the attack coming. It pierced him straight through the chest. He roared in pain as he fell to his knees.

"WarGrowlmon, get up!" Takato pleaded from behind the giant dinosaur.

WarGrowlmon darted his eyes between Takato and the dust. "I can't win, he's too strong, Takato."

"You have to, buddy! You can beat him, I know you can!"

WarGrowlmon placed a paw on the ground and attempted to hoist himself up, but was knocked back down by another Bone Blaster. His data began to disperse.

"You stand no chance against me, Tamer. Accept your fate!" Skullsatamon emerged from the shroud of dust, hovering over the ground. His staff was facing toward WarGrowlmon. "Bone Blas-"

"WARGROWLMON, GET UP!" Takato ran toward WarGrowlmon. "GET UP!"

"I – I can't Takato, I'm sorry..." The dying Digimon moaned.

"-ter!"

Takato's gold-plated D-Power unleashed a surge of light as WarGrowlmon was once again struck by the powerful attack.

**xxxVxxx**

"Uh, Kazu, are you sure you know where we're going?" Kenta asked him, pushing up his glasses. The two were blocks away from the now burned hotel. "I don't think they would have gone off this far."

Kazu heaved a sigh, "I'm not looking for them. I'm looking for Ryo."

Kenta raised an eye brow, "why? He's probably with Rika."

"My gut is telling me that he wasn't in the hotel. I want to find him to make sure he's ok. I don't care about Rika."

"You don't mean that.." Kenta protested. "Just because you two always fight doesn't mean you don't care about her."

Kazu stopped in his tracks. "Of course I don't mean it, but she really gets under my skin. I'm worried that Ryo has found her."

"And why does that worry you?"

Kazu shot his head around in all directions, making sure it was clear no one else was around. "Because the cool guy always gets the cool girl, okay?"

Confused, Kenta nodded. "True, but why does that concern you? Ryo obviously has feelings for Rika."

Kazu grit his teeth before he blushed. "And so do I. Look, I didn't mean what I said to her back at the hotel. I was just angry about last night. It's just.. ever since the Digital World I've felt closer to her, and all of you, but, gah! I don't know." Rain brushed down onto his face as he stood there in defeat over the admittance of his feelings. He felt ashamed of himself for confessing.

"That's cool, dude. I kind of like Jeri, but Takato got to her first." Kenta took of his glasses and attempted to wipe the rain off onto a dry spot on his shirt. "I won't say anything."

"Thanks man."

**xxxVxxx**

Rapidmon spun around, hi-kicking Spadamon square in the jaw. Spadamon stumbled backwards, giving Rapidmon time to attack. "Rapid Fire!" Bullets emerged from Rapidmon's back making contact with Spadamon. "C'mon, is that all you've got?"

Spadamon spat on Rapidmon's feet. "I could say the same, rabbit. C'mon, I can take you." Spadamon charged at Rapidmon, aimlessly swinging his sword. The sword barely touched Rapidmon, but Spadamon was quick and unleashed an attack, sending Rapidmon sprawling.

Regaining his posture, Rapidmon quickly lunged forward, dodging all of Spadamon's next attacks. "Tri-Beam!" The attack struck Spadamon hard, knocking him to the ground. The Digimon looked up, not willing to give up. Rapidmon aimed his hand down at the almost defeated Digimon. "Homing Blast." Missiles shot out from his back and bullets from his hand made contact with Spadamon.

The Digimon roared out in pain as his data dispersed into nothing more than floating specs and all that remained was a beaten down human.

"That wasn't so hard,"Rapidmon grinned.

Henry shook his head, "you need some tact, Rapidmon. I can see you haven't changed at all, though."

Rapidmon chuckled. "You haven't changed either, Henry." He stepped toward Henry but the security guard grabbed his ankle.

The security guard looked up, his eyes shining with pride. "You will not get away with this. Shimizu will defeat you and become the greatest master to ever live.

"Yeah, yeah. Save it, bucko." Rapidmon said, shaking his leg free of the human's grasp. "Let's go find the others, Henry."

**xxxVxxx **

"Can you sense the others?" Rika asked Kyubimon. She and Ryo were riding on her back, scaling houses and buildings. Ryo gripped her waste tightly trying to hold on.

The yellow kitsune jumped another building and stopped. "I can sense Cyberdramon's presence." She tilted her head, "he's fighting around here somewhere."

Ryo laughed, "I wouldn't doubt that. As long as he isn't ruining everything in his path."

Rika frowned, "if it's not him ruining everything then it's Shimizu and that damned Nico."

"Damned? I thought you had a thing for him," Ryo teased. Rika rolled her eyes. "But in all seriousness, we do need to find the others. If not them, then Shimizu and fast."

Kyubimon nodded, "yes. There are far too many Digimon on the loose now." She noted a herd of Agumon walking and Pepper Breathing everything.

"Let's just keep going. No use fighting weaker Digimon when our main priority is Shimizu." Rika said, heeling Kyubimon's sides like a horse. She nodded and continued. "Keep your eyes peeled for the others, too. Well, who ever comes first anyway."

"That won't be too hard." Ryo frowned. "Look straight ahead."

Rika scowled. Nico was several buildings ahead, staring straight at them. Clutched in his hand was his more advanced version of the D-Power.

Nico's body began to overwhelm as be began his transformation into a Digimon. His arms and legs stretched out and his belly grew larger. Then, appearing before Ryo, Rika, and Kyubimon was a Digimon. Rika took one glance and burst out laughing. Her tears streamed so fast down her face that puddles formed beneath them.

"That is," she choked out while laughing so hard, "the most pathetic," Ryo rolled his eyes, "looking Digimon, ever!" She fell off Kyubimon and banged her fists on the ground from laughing. Ryo suppressed his laughter but smiled nonetheless. _Never seen her laugh so hard before_, he mused. "You should have just been a Garbagemon. Or maybe yourself, wouldn't have made a difference." Rika roared with laughter at her own joke.

"Enough!" The Digimon growled. His face burning from embarrassment and a touch of rage.

Ryo pulled out his D-Power and read, "Pandamon, puppet Digimon. His attacks are Animal Nails, Bamboo Punch, Panda Pummel, and Unnanshou. Ultimate level Digimon." Ryo grinned down at Rika, whom was now on her back still laughing. He was astonished by her uncharacteristic like behaviour. _But then agian_, he thought, _she _is_ making fun of him._

Rika hugged her sides. They ached from her fit of giggles. "This should be no problem, eh Kyubimon?"

The kitsune nodded, not taking her eyes off the Pandamon. "Never judge an old book by its cover, Rika."

Rika snorted, "and never trust a handsome looking guy to be a tough Digimon." Kyubimon rolled her eyes.

Pandamon kicked the ground and pointed at Rika. His red scarf blew in the wind. "You'll pay for this, Rika."

"Going to hug me to death?" She joked, causing the Pandamon to lunge forward.

The Digimon fired an exceptionally expeditious attack below their feet, causing part of the building to collapse. Kyubimon jumped in the nick of time with Ryo still on her back. Rika plunged towards the ground. "Panda Pummel!" With even greater speed, the Pandamon hit Rika several times before she could even blink.

**xxVxx**

"This isn't good," Riley shook her head in disbelief.

Mr Wong looked up at Riley. She was furiously pressing buttons on her keyboard. "What isn't?"

Riley bit her lip, "it seems that an even greater force is closing in. I can't exactly pin-point the location of it, but it doesn't look good."

"Damn," Mr Wong groaned. "I'll inform Yamaki when he calls. He should be leaving momentarily."

"It's a good thing our jet wasn't destroyed during the D-Reaper incident," she divulged. "I just wish he would have invited me along. I've always wanted to see Italy."

Mr Wong chuckled, "I hear it's beautiful. However, if we don't stop the Digimon soon, there won't be anything special left about it."

Suddenly, a phone began to ring. Mr Wong's heart skipped a beat and scrambled in his pocket for the cellphone. He frowned upon reading the name. "Yes, Dolphin?"

"Janyuu, we've finally figured it out," the voice exclaimed, excitement clearly in his voice. "We need you at the lab as soon as possible."

**xxVxx**

"Rika!" Ryo and Kyubimon's voices screeched in terror.

Kazu and Kenta looked up in time to see the hurt Rika land on Kazu. "Oof."

Ryo jumped off Kyubimon and rushed towards the three. He bent down beside them and grabbed Rika, cradling her in his arms. "Rika..?"

Rika stirred and left out a moan. Blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. "Da...damn that overgrown bear."

Ryo scowled, "now who's the idiot?" He wiped the blood using his thumb. "Don't make fun of the enemy, Rika."

Kazu's face grew hot as he looked at the two. "What happened?" He tried to ask casually.

Kenta straightened his glasses, "looks to me like she fell off the building."

Rika rolled her eyes, "ya'think?" She pushed herself out of Ryo's grasp and stumbled trying to stand. "Kick his ass to the curb, Kyubimon!" Rika pulled out her D-Power and slid a card through. Kyubimon's senses sharpened and became more agile.

"Are you alright?" Kazu asked, patting Rika on the back.

She doubled over in pain, coughing. More blood trickled from her mouth. "I don't care whether I'm alright or not," she told him, "I just want this damn Digimon out of my site."

Kyubimon scoured the skies and roofs but there was no sight of Pandamon. "I don't sense him anymore."

Rika swore. "Get up there and look again." Obeying her order, Kyubimon jumped onto the building opposite of the one that crumbled.

"Animal Nails!" Pandamon's voice cracked. His nails extended several inches, shimmering in the dim light. His paws were stretched out in front of him as he made a quick dash towards Rika.

"Foxtail Inferno!" Kyubimon's attack came from off the building, hitting the Pandamon. He looked up bemused.

"Do you honestly think you'd stand a chance against me?" Pandamon mocked. "You're only a champion."

"Damn right she's a champion," Kazu interrupted, shooting his fists in the air. "You don't know who her Tamer is!"

Pandamon threw back his head and laughed, "so what? You'll never be able to defeat all of us Digimon. Shimizu will take over this world before you can even finish a hundredth of us."

Rika threw Kazu a look before turning her gaze upon Pandamon. "Does _he_ think he can actually take over the entire world? That's so cliche of a bad guy."

"Be that as it may, you are all still not nearly powerful enough to stop him." Pandamon defended. He retracted his claws. "You are just wasting your time as you are mine."

"So are you just going to run away then?" Ryo finally spoke up.

Pandamon shook his head and pawed at his scarf. "I was thinking. I won't kill any of you if you just join us. What do you say, Rika?"

Rika scoffed. "Not in a million years. I'd lose my title being seen next to a Digimon like you."

Pandamon grit his teeth. "Fine. You're going to be the first on my kill list then. Panda Pum-"

"Desolation Claw!" A wave of powerful and bright light emerged from behind, knocking Pandamon into several trash cans."

"Told you that you should have been a Garbagemon," Rika jested with a smug look on her face.

Kazu and Kenta left out a small laugh. "You never change."

Rika turned to them and glared, "and why should I? Just because we're in a different country doesn't me-"

"Enough," Ryo hissed. "We need to focus."

"Who left you in charge?"

"Stop it Rika!"

Cyberdramon stood behind Ryo, staring at the Pandamon. Pandamon regained his stance, contracting his claws once more. "So this is how you want to play, huh? Two on one? We'll see who's the better mon here."

Ryo peered up behind him. Cyberdramon sighed from the all too familiar look. "Go easy on him, he's human under that fur."

"Desolation Claw!" Cyberdramon roared again. Pandamon, however, dodged it easily but was hit with an unexpected blow from Kyubimon. He shook it off before dodging another attack from the cyborg.

Using quick and agile moves, he kicked Kyubimon hard in the ribs before unleashing his Bamboo Punch on Cyberdramon. His attacks landed but easily bounced off Cyberdramon's rubber armour. Cyberdramon grinned, retaliating with his Cyber Nail. Pandamon stumbled back, huffing just as Kyubimon pounced on him, biting hard into his neck.

"Arg! Get off me you ugly mutt!" Pandamon turned around and jabbed his claws deep into Kyubimon's stomach. She roared in pain as she collapsed to the ground. Rika ran over to her, placing a hand on her open wound. Kyubimon threw her an apologetic look.

Cyberdramon narrowed his eyes, "she's a fox. Desolation Claw!" The attack hit Pandamon by surprise and he finally doubled over, out of energy. "I can see you were all talk. You barely put up a fight."

"Hmph, it's not over yet." The panda sneered. Before he could make another move, Cyberdramon drove his nail through him and the panda fell to the ground, defeated. The data drifted off and Nico appeared before them, semi-unconscious. Using the last bit of his energy, he crawled towards Rika. "I-I'm so sorry."

Rika raised an eyebrow. "For what? Almost killing me _and_ my partner?"

He nodded, not willing to look her in the eyes. She couldn't tell from his blank facial expression whether or not he was lying. She simply turned her head. "They're coming."

"What?" She snapped.

Nico gulped. "They're com-" Before he could say much more, he fell into an unconscious sleep.

Everyone exchanged glances. "What do you suppose he meant?" Kenta asked.

Ryo shrugged. "More Digimon? Who knows. We better go find the others though. Rika, Kyubimon? Are you two fine?"

Rika frowned. "She's hurt pretty bad. Maybe we should find someplace safe before we find the others. Cyberdramon can carry her until then."

"Good idea. We do need a hideout so we can come up with a plan. And...rejuvenate of course. What do you suppose we should do with him though?"

"Throw his body into a river?" Cyberdramon growled. Ryo shook his head. "I think I know of a good place to rendezvous."

**xxVxx**

A/N: Ok, ok, I know. The writing got a little sloppy towards the end.


	9. A Spy in White

**Chapter 9 – A spy in white**

Skullsatamon stepped back, watching the giant dinosaur in amusement, eyes sparkling with interest. The great dinosaur began changing along with his Tamer. Gold light emitted from each part of their body as they became one.

Standing before Skullsatamon was no longer the dinosaur nor child but a mesmerizing and gallant paladin. A true knight in shining armour. The Digimon had a humanoid figure with white armour from head to foot. Red and gold shoulder plates glistened from the distance light despite rain pelting onto his armour and his red cape flourished in the wind. His left hand held tightly onto a round shield with a gold trim, bearing the mark of the Digital symbol. His right hand miraculously formed a joust with a intimidating point.

"Gallantmon, pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," Skullsatamon bowed. "This should only be too fun of a battle, hmm?"

"There's nothing fun about killing one another," Gallantmon stated, watching the Digimon in front of him.

"I see you live up to your name, however, only the strong should live in this world." Skullsatamon grimaced. "Your life ends here."

"We'll see about that."

**xxVxx**

"This place reminds me of the school we used to hang out at back in the D-Reaper days," Kazu mused. "Total deja vu."

"Except for the fact that this is Italy not Japan, and we're in a hospital not a school." Rika said, rolling her eyes.

Kazu laughed. "True. I wonder if this place is haunted."

Ryo sighed, "just because people have died in here doesn't mean it's haunted." He placed an arm around Rika's shoulders. "If you're scared, Rika, I'm here to cuddle you."

She snorted. "Please. Are you going to wet yourself before or after the ghost waves to you?"

Everyone but Ryo laughed, seeing Ryo's face turn red. He took his arm from off of her. The group had come across an abandoned hospital that had been closed up for several years. Cyberdramon lead them there after he discovered it during his little fly through the city. The hospital was only a couple blocks away from where they left Nico laying unconscious. It was an admin decision. Rika wanted to bring him and felt bad about his current state, but they couldn't risk him blabber-mouthing to Shimizu where their hideout was.

Cyberdramon carried the limp and injured Renamon over his shoulder as they walked through the dark corridor.

"I wonder if the lights work," Kenta thought.

"I doubt it. Besides, even if they did, it would only attract stray Digimon," Ryo told him. "And given everyone's condition..."

"You mean 'given Renamon's condition.'" Rika shot at him.

"And yours. Don't deny that you're hurt, Rika." He nodded towards the tear in her shirt and couldn't imagine the intense pain she probably felt from the slash and the pummelling.

"So what if I am? I'm still alive. Our main priority right now is to get Renamon kicking and well enough to do some." She argued. The truth was, she felt like crap and wasn't sure how much longer she'd hold up. Her ribs felt cracked, the large cut on her chest hurt and still bled, and breathing killed her. It wouldn't have been fair to everyone if she was in bed resting while they worked so hard. She had to do her best to hold up. She just had to.

**XxVxx**

"Bone Crusher!"

"Lightning Joust!"

The two attacks collided disintegrating trees around them like they were made of paper. Debris fell onto them as they stood feet away, eyes on eyes. "You're good," Skullsatamon grinned.

Gallantmon nodded. "As you are. Unfortunately, you'll not be around much longer. An ultimate is no match for a mega."

"I'll be the judge of that." Skullsatamon moved forward, jumping high in the air, staff in attacking position. "Bone Crusher!" The beam that had shot out was bright red, temporarily blinding Gallantmon.

Raising his shield to protect him from the attack, Gallantmon thrust his joust into the air impaling Skullsatamon through the stomach. Skullsatamon left out a couple more attacks while still on the joust only for them to ricochet off Gallantmon's armour and onto himself. He cried out in pain and defeat before finally turning into meaningless data.

"Good job, guys," Jeri jeered. She ran over to Gallantmon. "Now, let's find the others."

Gallantmon nodded. "Yes and quickly. We also need to get in touch with Yamaki."

"That won't be necessary," a voice said. Both turned to see Henry and Rapidmon making tracks towards them. Henry was smiling, despite his face all busted and bruised. "I just called my dad...on a payphone...which cost a fortune..."

Jeri and Gallantmon laughed. "So, what's the verdict?"

"Yamaki is on his way." Henry informed them. "Left about two hours ago in his jet. He should be here soon."

"Perfect. So let's go find the others." Jeri said.

"No need to," another voice said, mocking the first. Ryo smiled at them all. "It's about time we've found you. If it wasn't for the light from Gallantmon, I probably would still be looking. We have a hideout so let's hurry."

Jeri ran over to him and gave him a hug. "I'm so glad you're safe. We were so worried about you...and Rika. By the way, where is she?"

Ryo returned the heartwarming hug. "She's fine. Sort of anyway. She was under my care the entire time this all happened."

"What do you mean, 'sort of'?" Henry asked, raising an eyebrow. "If she was under your care then obviously you weren't really looking after her."

"Ouch, Henry. You know that I would never intentionally harm Rika or let her get hurt." Ryo said, releasing Jeri from the embrace.

"Then what happened to her?" Jeri asked, frowning.

Ryo shrugged. "She's got an insanely large cut over her stomach and was punched by a Pandamon..well, Nico, several times. I'm sure she's in a lot of pain but insists she's fine."

Henry sighed. "She probably doesn't want you worrying about her. So Nico is a Pandamon? Or Pandamon is Nico? Whichever way you look at it."

Ryo nodded. "Yes. That's what Digimon he turns into when he uses his D-Power."

"Why did Nico attack Rika anyway? I thought he liked her." Takato asked. He was still Gallantmon.

Ryo looked up at him. "Nico wants her dead because of Shimizu, obviously. But really, he only attacked her because she made fun of him for being a Pandamon."

"That's so typical of Rika," Jeri said, snickering.

"Yeah. I just hope she's ok, though. I can't imagine the pain she's endured." Ryo shook his head, imagining how she must feel.

"She'll be fine. She's a tough cookie," Rapidmon assured him.

"I hope so." Henry agreed.

_We all do, _Ryo thought.

**XxVxx**

"So," Kazu said, awkwardly. He had been slouched in a chair since Ryo left them to look for the others. The group agreed on making a safe house in the surgery wing of the hospital. Given that in most hospitals, the surgery wing was always located in the centre, they deemed it safer to crash there in hopes the working lights wouldn't reach any open windows. They pulled several gurneys and hospital beds into the large enclosed area. Renamon laid on the one nearest where Rika had been sitting and Kenta occupied another closest to Kazu.

"Hmm?" Came the reply. Rika sat uncomfortably in a chair. One hand rested on her stomach while the other cupped her chin as her elbow rested on Renamon's bed.

Kazu looked at Rika nervously. "I hope Ryo was successful in finding the others." He made up. He really wanted to ask how she was holding up, or rather how she managed to hold up. He thought of the pain she must be in and it hurt him just as much knowing he was useless when it came to helping a friend in need.

"Me too," she said simply, causing Kazu to sink further in his chair.

"How do you think we're going to stop Shimizu?" He asked, turning his gaze to the sleeping Kenta.

Rika shrugged and stood up. "We're just going to have to find him and capture him. I'm sure Yamaki will know how to shove the Digimon back into their world. Honestly, I could care less about what's happening right now."

"Why don't you get some rest. I'll watch." Kazu suggested.

Rika raised an eyebrow, "you'll watch me rest?"

Kazu's face turned bright red. "No, I mean I'll stand guard."

"I don't need to rest right now. Why don't you?" She told him. As exhausted as she was, she was afraid of sleeping and not waking up.

"I'll stay awake and wait for Ryo with you." He said. He promised Ryo before he left that he would keep an eye on her in case she decided to randomly pass out on the spot.

Rika stood over Renamon and placed a hand gently over her partner's face, caressing the outline of her jaw. The sleeping Digimon stirred causing Rika to pull her hand away. "I hate having to sit here and do nothing while our world is at stake again."

"If we don't rest, we won't be prepared." Kazu frowned. "Besides, it's not like we can shove five thousand Digimon back into their world before dawn. I'm sure everyone is tired anyway."

Rika sighed. "I'm worried, Kazu."

He was taken back by her sudden confession. It wasn't like her to admit her fears or worries and to admit them to Kazu was just unnatural. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling of his stomach churning at the very thought of one of the bravest Tamers worried about what's to come. "What are you worried about?" He asked after several moments.

"Well," she began, unsure of where to start. She turned to face him and he sat up in his chair. "I'm worried about my mom and grandma, first of all. They don't know what's going on nor where I am. I'm worried that one of us will probably get killed. And last but not least," she took a deep breath, "I'm worried we won't be able to stop this army of Shimizu's."

Kazu felt guilty. He knew that Rika was always strong and gave a 'don't-care' attitude on a day-to-day basis. His words from earlier that caused her so much stress and even more guilt tore through him. "Rika... I'm sorry."

She eyed him suspiciously. "It's not your fault my mother and grandma are out there somewhere. Or that an army is about to take over Rome."

Kazu shook his head. "No, I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier. It's just that... It's just that I lik-"

"Hey guys!" Takato beamed. They turned to look and Kazu's heart sunk. He slumped back down in his seat. _What shitty timing._

Jeri ran over to Rika and gave her a hug. Rika cringed in pain causing Jeri to pull back. "Oh, I'm sorry, Rika. Ryo told us what happened."

"It's all right. Is everyone OK?" Rika asked.

Henry smiled, walking over to Rika. It was his turn to pull her into an embrace. "We're fine, but it's you we're concerned about."

"Me?" She asked, touching his black eye. Henry nodded. "I'm fine, honestly. Besides, it's Shimizu we should be worried about."

"You're too stubborn," Ryo sighed.

"You know it and don't forget it." She grinned.

"Get some rest. We're all going to need some," Takato told them. "We have to be prepared and can't fight while sleepwalking."

"Or could we..."Kazu joked. No one laughed. "Just trying to kill some tension."

Rika frowned. "Fine. I'll rest, but I'd like to be alone." She needed time to think about the last couple days.

"No!" Ryo and Kazu both said. She turned to look at them. "It's not safe. I'll go with you." Ryo folded his arms. "You have no say in that. It's us or Cyberdramon and me."

"I can understand you tagging along, but why him?" She thumbed Cyberdramon.

"In case something happens." He put simply.

Rika shook her head. "Why can't Jeri stay with me?"

Jeri shrugged. "Ryo is much stronger."

Rika narrowed her eyes. _Traitor,_ she thought bitterly. "Fine."

The two headed into the next room where Rika claimed the hospital bed farthest from the door. Ryo, however, never bothered to take a bed. Instead, he walked over to Rika and stood over her. He eyed her carefully. Rika could feel him staring but pretended not to take notice. She rolled onto her side facing away from him and winced.

Ryo stepped around the bed to face her. "You're not fine. At least let me take a look."

Rika rolled onto her back. "No. I'll live. It doesn't hurt as much anymore."

He wasn't convinced that it wasn't hurting too much. Given the way that she had been walking and breathing earlier, he was sure she was in much more pain then she let on. He sat on the bed, placing a hand on her stomach. She flinched. "Let me look."

"... Fine. But be quick." She lifted her shirt up a little past her ribs, just under her breasts. She eyed Ryo carefully to make sure he wasn't up to no good. He gently rubbed his hand along her ribs and over her stomach and traced along the cut on her stomach.

Doing his best not to hurt her or irritate the wound more, he tapped where he believed to be the broken rib. "I should take you to the hospital," he said, indicating the small lump just under her right breast. Rika shook her head. She knew he meant well but he didn't understand that she just didn't want to be a bother on anyone. Going to the hospital meant delaying their resting time which meant more Digimon were bound to come through the portal. She attempted to convince herself that she was more fine than she felt, but every intake of breath seared through her like fire.

Given the event occurring outside, it wouldn't have been safe for any of them to wander out in the middle of the night, even if Rika wanted to go to the hospital. Even if Cyberdramon was with them, what would happen if their whereabouts was attacked? They needed all the help they could get and it just wasn't worth splitting up.

Ryo, however, seemed to be sharing the same thought but didn't care. "I know it's not safe out there right now, but think of it this way: we do need all our strength and if you're in that condition, how can we be at our fullest potential in this battle? If you're unable to fight, Renamon – no offence – would be useless."

Rika closed her eyes in thought. He had a point that even she thought about. True, they would be down one Tamer if Rika didn't get better, but what if Ryo got hurt on the way to the hospital? Was it worth the risk? "What if you get hurt," she asked. "We don't even know if all these Digimon are working for Shimizu."

Ryo moved his hand from off her chest and rubbed her cheek. His azure eyes sparkled in amusement. "So you do care."

She scowled. "I care about us all being together and acting as a team. Without you, there is no team. You're our strongest player." She opened her eyes and gave him a full look over. He, too, was injured. The cut over his shoulder and one of his chest from Nico's knife was still a fresh wound, but he ignored it. He was strong enough. He knew that if Rika only had the cut on her chest she'd be fine as well, but she had possible broken ribs from being punched.

"Tell you what," he said, smiling. "If there are too many Digimon out there, we'll come right back to our hideout and get some rest. Deal?"

Rika scratched her head in silent contemplation. It sounded fair. She wasn't in any more condition to argue even though she wanted to. It took all her energy and breath just to speak to him. She took Ryo by the hand and gave it a squeeze. "Fine, but if it's too dangerous we're heading straight back here."

Ryo nodded and she knew full well that he'd have no intentions of coming back despite the happenings outside.

**XxVxx**

"Do you guys hear that?" Kazu asked, sitting up in bed. He was only sleeping for a short time before being awoke abruptly. The sound he was hearing was a distant 'oooing' noise, much like what a fake ghost would sound like. Takato and Henry sat up from their beds, listening.

After several long moments, Takato finally admitted he had no idea what Kazu was talking about.

"You can't hear that?" He asked in disbelief. "I think this hospital is haunted." He got out of bed and walked over to the doors and pressed his ear against it. The noise turned from ghostly to a 'bakabaka' chant to a loud crashing noise. He peaked through the window and saw hospital equipment being thrown by absolutely nothing. Fear gripped him and he fell down. Pointing at the window he turned to the two sitting in bed. "Did you hear that? Or see it?"

Henry shook his head. "We can't see anything while sitting in bed."

"Get up and look!" Kazu shouted, causing the others to raise.

Jeri looked over and rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Kazu thinks hes seen a ghost," Takato explained.

"I don't think. And I didn't see anything but stuff being thrown. Listen, you can hear it!" Everyone was quiet and listened intently. Kazu heard the ghostly sounds again. This time, they were closer.

"I don't hear anything," Jeri told him. She got up and walked over to the door. She looked through the window and shrugged. "I don't even see equipment on the floor. Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

Kazu stood up in disbelief. He looked out the window against when it appeared. A floating white ghost with large black eyes with an even bigger mouth and large teeth appeared before him. The ghost mouthed the word 'boo' and Kazu fell back to the ground, screaming.

The ghost went intangible, floated through the door, looked at Kazu and burst into laughter. Its eyes watered in amusement at its prank. "Sorry," it said. "Couldn't resist."

"What the _hell _is your problem, Bakemon?" Kazu shrieked, holding his heart that almost beat out of his chest. The ghost Digimon laughed some more.

"I heard you talking about this dump being haunted. Followed you guys and scared ya, eehhh?" Bakemon laughed some more.

Before Kazu could flipshit on the ghost, Henry cut him off. "Bakemon, are you working for Shimizu?"

The ghost turned to him. Its smile was replaced by a confused look. "What's that?"

"A human. Are you working for him?" Takato asked this time.

Bakemon did its best to shrug, given it didn't really have shoulders. "Uhh. Nope."

Everyone exchanged looks.

"It seems Shimizu may have a small army but is boasting about having a large one. Probably to make us worry." Renamon said. The vixen was up and looking much better. Her injury healed over nicely, leaving a tiny dark-yellow scar over her stomach. "Where's Rika?"

"She's in the next room with Cyberdramon and Ryo." Kazu said, crossing his arms.

"That girl with red hair?" Bakemon asked. "She left a while ago with that other person and the ugly Digimon."

Takato stood up. "What? Where did they go?"

The ghost hovered on the spot trying to think. It screwed its face up in concentration before finally answering with, "to a hospital. That girl looked badly hurt."

Once again, everyone exchanged looks, but only of concern. Bakemon looked between them all and stuck out its tongue. Henry sweat dropped. "Do you think you could help us?"

"With...? I'm very busy you know." The ghost said.

"Could you spy on Shimizu? Find out his plans and how many Digimon are actually on his side. Don't let on that you're helping us out." Henry asked. Takato smacked himself. _Of course, why didn't I think of that_, he asked himself. It was a perfect plan. Shimizu knew all their partners because of Nico and Nico knew of them all because of Rika. So if a Digimon they didn't know about was spying, he definitely wouldn't be able to tell.

"Hmm." Bakemon took it into consideration. It attempted to scratch its chin but its arm went through its body. "What's in it for me?"

Henry grinned devilishly. "You can scare the living crap out of Rika and Ryo."

Bakemon beamed in delight. "It's a deal!"

**xxVxx**

The commotion outside was was deafening. Guns fired, Digimon roared, and people screamed. The army was out but not in tanks, just in their armoured vehicles. Ryo even noticed soldiers walking in march from other countries such as the United States and Great Britain.

To Ryo, that was a positive sign. It meant that the Digimon haven't made it outside of Italy, or possibly Europe, but it also meant that there were so many Digimon on the loose the Italian army couldn't handle them all by themselves.

Ryo was holding onto Rika as tight as he could without causing her discomfort. Cyberdramon agreed to fly them to the hospital, which turned out to be halfway across the city.

Stepping down on the ground, they came across several militia hiding behind barricades just outside of the hospital. Sacks full of sand surrounded the hospital with guns in every direction. One of them began shouting at Ryo in Italian. Ryo rose a hand in surrender.

"I don't speak Italian," he shouted. "My friend needs help and this big guy," he pointed to Cyberdramon, "is on our side."

They all looked at each other and spoke some more in Italian. Ryo grew annoyed and impatient. Finally, one spoke in Japanese. Ryo was sure they were probably guessing which language he was speaking. "Move from that beast at once!"

Ryo gave a confused look. "I already said he's on our side. He protected us from being harmed further. My friend is hurt though and needs medical attention."

The one who spoke Japanese turned to the others some more before finally giving Ryo the OK to go ahead. "You may pass, but that thing stays out here."

Ryo looked up to Cyberdramon and gave him a pat on his metal plate. "Stay out here and protect these humans. Hopefully we won't be long."

Cyberdramon grunted. "Call if you need me."

After stepping into the hospital, Rika was seen to immediately. Even though Ryo could barely understand anyone, he knew that they were taking good care of her. His suspicions were correct and it had been in fact several broken ribs. As far as Ryo could tell, the doctors implied that any more hits to the stomach it would have punctured her lungs. He was thankful he managed to convince her to actually go to the hospital.

He sat in the waiting room for several hours, refusing to sleep in case the doctor came by with updates. He glanced around taking in all the injured people. He knew that most of them were there because of Digimon and it disgusted him to think of how Shimizu was doing this. A human harming more humans? It was inhumane. What was he up to?

He watched as a small child no older than ten was being brought into the waiting room. His arm looked dislocated and he was crying. His parents tried reassuring the poor kid by giving him a lollipop, but the kid just pushed it away.

"Uh. A-key-yama?" The doctor came through the door. He was flipping through papers on a clipboard.

Ryo raised a hand, "that's me... I think."

The doctor nodded and motioned him to follow. They walked down the main entrance to the service elevator. The doctor hit the button for the second floor and they got off. Half the hall way was pitch black which sent chills down Ryo's spine. No other doctor or even nurses were around and Ryo wondered if maybe he was the wrong person the doctor was calling. The two stopped at the end of the hall which had no rooms on either side. It was a plain dead end.

The doctor smiled grimly. "Sorry to do this to you," he said, pulling out a D-Power like Shimizu's and Nico's. The only difference is, his was a chocolate brown colour. "Orders are orders."

Ryo clenched a fist. "You bastard. What have you done with Rika?"

The doctor ignored his question. His hand lit up with a bright brown light. "Shimizu's orders were clear. You'll not be leaving this hospital in one piece."

"What the hell did you do with Rika?" Ryo roared. _If anything happened to her, I'll never forgive myself._

"She's dead, I assure you."

"I don't believe you. Where is she?"

The doctor suppressed a laugh. "Why does it matter? She's as good as dead. You two will be together soon."

"Fuck you, buddy."


	10. The Colosseum

More twists and turns still to come so please read and review.

**Chapter 10 – The Colosseum**

The doctor immersed into a brown light, his body expanding to the size of its Digimon. As the giant wings formed on the back of the Digimon, they tore into the floor above. The tail stretched out shattering the window behind. Swords formed in front of the Digimon, whom grabbed them as its mask appeared completing its look.

Ryo stepped back in defeat. He was alone, there was no way he would be able to take down the Digimon. He had to buy time.

"Where is Rika?" He asked again, performing a defending stance. _Not that it would do much good, _he thought. "And what Digimon are you?"

The golden dragon-type Digimon stared down at Ryo and grinned. "I am Owryumon, one of Master Shimizu's strongest guardians." It said, ignoring the question about Rika.

"His guardian? How many does he have?" He said in disbelief.

Owryumon nodded. "That is correct. There are ten of us in total. Each one of us are protecting our Master along his mission. Not that it concerns you. Since the other one failed to eliminate you, it is my turn to prove my worthiness to Master Shimizu." Owryumon rose its swords, swiping them down at Ryo. The left blade made contact with the side of his chest, knocking him down while the right one barely missed, slashing the floor.

Ryo left out a yelp of pain before rolling over to dodge the next set of attacks. Both swords hit either side of him, driving large holes into the floor. The floor crumbled beneath Ryo's weight and he fell onto a bed below. Ryo stumbled onto his feet, managing to miss the swords once more. He ran over to the window, attempting to unlock it before another attack missed his head. The sword broke through the window, falling onto the ground below. He could hear the loud clank as it hit.

"Cyberdramon!" Ryo yelled out the window, but failed to spot the cyborg. He turned around to see Owryumon behind him. The mass of its body knocked over the walls behind it. Ryo could see doctors and patients running down the hall to safety.

"Golden Armour!" Owryumon commanded its attack. The debris and earth around him rose from the ground shooting at Ryo. The attack annihilated everything in its path, smashing Ryo out of the hospital and falling to the ground. With the right sword still in its hand, Owryumon dropped it, tip down, at the falling Ryo. "Good-bye, Tamer."

* * *

Nico staggered through the corridor of the Colloseum, carrying a limp and unconscious body over his shoulder. He had anticipated his defeat and had expected no less of the Tamers. His job, however, was to weaken them, not kill them. Shimizu knew that with Nico only having an ultimate level evolution wouldn't be any match for the Tamers.

Shimizu had others out there to help him; much more advanced Spirit Evolutions. He put all his trust into the stronger five, not the weaker ones, which is why Nico was stuck with such a pathetic task. He didn't care though. He completed his task so Shimizu had no reason to discard him like he had done with the security guard. _Poor Armo, _he thought sadly.

Finally reaching his destination, Nico placed the body onto the makeshift bed. He sat beside it, placing his head onto his hands. What Shimizu had set out to do was going according to plan, so he was pleased. However, none of the Tamer's had been killed. Instead, they all had their partners with them. It was, in fact, a threat to Shimizu, if only a small one. The portal was open and five thousand Digimon were hanging around Italy. Most of which were servants of Shimizu. It wasn't much of an army he had boasted about, hell, there wasn't even an army and Nico knew that for a fact.

It was all a diversion. The true goal of Shimizu wasn't Italy itself, but what Italy had. What Italy contained. That was Shimizu's true goal. Sure, it would have been possible to obtain it without releasing all those Digimon, but Shimizu had no choice. In order to bring in his guardians, he had to open a portal for them. Opening a portal obviously meant stray Digimon would go through. It was a risk that had turned out to be in their favour.

Armies from countries all over had now come into Italy to fight the Digimon that had come through the portal. It distracted them from getting to the Colloseum which contained what Shimizu was looking for. It would be impossible for humans to defeat so many Digimon and it was sickening for Nico to know that so many humans would die because of them.

He grabbed his D-Tector, that was now broken. He threw it against a wall completely shattering it. It was no good to him anymore, he couldn't evolve. He didn't want to evolve. The process was painful and stole too much of his energy. Nico was glad he had lost the battle, even if it left him injured. He turned to look at the figure on the bed, the breathing no longer rhythmic due to injuries, causing him to leave out a sigh. He placed his hand on their face.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, mostly to himself. He was sorry to go against the Tamers, especially Rika. They were friends. No, they were more. She was the first person he connected with and had feelings for. He never meant to harm her so much, but what choice did he have? If he hadn't fought with full potential, Shimizu would have known and Nico would have suffered the same fate as Armo.

Nico looked away from the body in time to see a white ghost float through the wall. He smiled a bit. "I trust you have good news."

Bakemon smiled. "The abandoned hospital is their hideout."

"Good. You've done your share of the work. Here is your reward," Nico thanked him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large white vial. Uncorking it, another Bakemon released itself.

"Thank the Sovereign I am free," it beamed, with a female voice.

The first Bakemon grinned. "I'm so happy to have you back."

Nico could sense the happy ending with the two Bakemon as they floated away. It was cruel to hold one captive to get the other to do his bidding, but his plan worked. He now knew the whereabouts of the Tamers. He got off the bed and headed out the door to his room. Looking back before he closed the door, he smiled at the figure. "I'll be back, Rika."

* * *

Yamaki stepped into the abandoned hospital. Turning his flashlight on, he followed the tracks of the Tamers' from their footprints that had uncovered the thick layer of dust. What surprised him most was there was an extra set of them leading into the opposite direction. He decided to follow those ones instead. He rounded some corners and up one flight of stairs. He began to wonder if the Tamers were there at all as he had not seen any light nor heard any sounds.

Before Yamaki turned to head down the stairs, a loud crashing noise caught his attention. He sprinted down the long, dark corridor before coming to a halt outside of the last room. A shadowy figure appeared before him, and he stepped back.

"Show yourself," Yamaki demanded. Pointing his flashlight in the direction. The figure moved into the room. Yamaki followed. "Is it one of you kids?"

The suspicious figure stopped in the corner. "I guess you caught me."

"Who are you," Yamaki asked. The beam of his flashlight touched the figure. "Kazu?"

"That's right, so what?" Kazu defended himself. "Isn't a guy allowed to sneak around a dark and creepy hospital?"

Shaking his head, Yamaki answered in a deep voice, "it's very suspicious. What are you doing?"

Kazu edged closer to the window. "I was sneaking out of here."

Yamaki rose a brow, "and why exactly are you sneaking around?"

"Ryo and Rika went to the hospital alone. I was going to go there, too." Kazu told him. It was the truth, even if Yamaki was still suspicious. Kazu wanted to make sure Rika wasn't in anymore danger and that Ryo wasn't bored out of his mind waiting. He knew the dangers outside and had no idea where the hospital was in the very least, but he couldn't shake his concerned feeling.

"Are they all right?" Yamaki was unaware of what had been happening between the times he had been flying to Italy. It wasn't like he could use his phone on the plane. His main priority was to make sure the children weren't in any danger.

"Rika was badly hurt so Ryo took her to the hospital." Kazu said, sitting down in defeat. "I feel so useless."

"You should," an unrecognized voice said from behind Yamaki. He raised his flashlight behind Yamaki, bringing it down on his head. Yamaki collapsed to the ground. "Where are the others?"

"What do you want with us, Nico?" Kazu asked, raising his fists.

Nico raised his hands, stepping over Yamaki. "Relax, I'm not going to harm you."

"Oh yeah? You just knocked out Yamaki, why should I trust you?"

"Because I have something that you need," Nico grinned.

Kazu didn't trust his words. And why should he? He almost killed Rika. Not to mention he's working for Shimizu. "And that is..?"

"I'll tell you after we get to the others. I'm on your side, Kizu." Nico said.

"It's Kazu."

Nico shrugged. "Whatever. Trust me."

* * *

Janyuu rushed into the office. Dolphin sat in front of a giant computer monitor vigorously typing away on his keyboard, oblivious to Janyuu's arrival. Janyuu gave a small cough, gaining the attention of his co-worker.

"Ah, Janyuu, sorry, didn't see you there. I have good news," Dolphin said, not looking up from the screen. The screen displayed green and red coloured dots on the map of Italy.

"I trust you do," he replied, observing the dots.

Dolphin poked a red dot on the screen, "OK, you're never going to believe this. These red dots here indicate the closed portals in Italy. As you can see, there are far more red ones than green."

"Which tells us that the one behind this is could be after the portals," Janyuu said.

"No, that's the thing I called you down here for," Dolphin replied. "Look here," he said, poking a place on the map, "that's where the Colosseum is, but look close. There are three dots, not one."

"Interesting." Janyuu squinted at the place Dolphin indicated. "It's also a lot bigger than the others, too."

Dolphin nodded, "yes, but look even closer."

Janyuu did as he was instructed. He looked so close his nose almost touched the screen. He left out a gasp, "one's still closed, but what does the yellow dot mean?"

"I'm assuming this is where the first portal was opened since it's the largest. I'm still unsure why only one is opened and not the other. As far as the yellow dot goes, I'm working on it. This program is only set up to tell us of portals in the world, the yellow dot just suddenly appeared and I haven't seen any other anywhere else. I'm putting my money on that there being something our bad guy is after at that location."

"So it appears. Perhaps that the other portal isn't known to the one behind this, or maybe he doesn't know how to open it. Still, by looking at all the other closed portals on the map I'm guessing that he's still after them for some reason. It's far too confusing anyhow." Janyuu took a seat beside Dolphin. "Any luck with our portal or finding out about the Spirit Evolution?"

Dolphin shook his head, "no. I think it's a waste of time to create our own portal now. I'm sure the kids' Digimon would have or have managed to come through one of the many open in Italy. I'm going to figure out what's under the Colosseum."

* * *

"I hate this guy," Jeri whispered to Takato. He nodded in agreement but remained silent.

"Oh gee, don't I feel loved," Nico said, rolling his eyes, overhearing Jeri's comment. Jeri blushed with embarrassment.

"You should," Henry growled, crossing his arms. "What do you want anyway? I suppose you told Shimizu where we are."

Nico faced him, his green eyes flaring with annoyance, "no, I did not tell Shimizu where you guys are."

"Heh, you probably will soon," Kazu remarked, working up his courage. He leaned against the doors, blocking the path in case Nico decided to bolt.

"Look, I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you," his tone was serious, though he knew no one trusted him. "I never meant to hurt you, but I did what I had to do."

Henry shook his head, "the trouble you've caused us? You nearly had Rika and Ryo killed! There's no reason for us to forgive you."

Takato was taken back by Henry's words. _Usually Henry is very forgiving, _he thought, recalling when they had first met Rika. On several occasions she had tried killing Guilmon. He cast his partner a glance. Guilmon stood beside him, ready to fight when necessary. He turned his attention back to Nico."Why don't you start explaining yourself."

Nico left out a small, irritated sigh. "I was working for Shimizu under a condition of his. It's not like I really wanted to be the bad guy in this. Everyone working for him is the same way. It's uuh, what you call...blackmail, si?"

"Cut the Italian crap you're trying to pull on us," Renamon snarled. She quickly rose to her bed, making her way towards Nico. Grabbing him by the scarf of the shirt, she lifted him up several feet. "Where is Rika?"

"Put me down you damn dog." Nico grabbed Renamon's arm. "She's safe. How did you know I had her?"

Renamon tightened her grip, "you smell like her. Where is she?"

Nico grinned, "it's not what you think. I carried her to my hideout from the hospital before she got killed by one of Shimizu's Guardians."

"His Gaurdian?" Henry rose a brow.

"Yes, now put me down so I can explain myself." Renamon nodded, letting go of Nico. He fell onto his butt and looked up. "That was rude. Anyway, as I was trying to explain... I never intended on working for Shimizu. He has something of mine that I need back. After I did his bidding he still hadn't given me what I'm after." He stood, wiping off his pants. "He has something of all of ours that he's using as blackmail."

"And that is...?" Kazu said, growing impatient.

Nico looked at him, "what he has is something personal for everyone. And I'd be damned if I told you what he has of mine."

"OK, so we've established this blackmail thing. Now, let me get this straight, you are here for us to help you get back what Shimizu has of yours only because he didn't keep his word." Henry caught on.

"Yes. In exchange for helping me, I will give you Rika back." Nico told them.

Renamon bore her teeth, "I don't be thinking so. You _will _ give her back now or I will kill you myself."

"If you kill me, dog, you will never find her. So do we have a deal?"

* * *

Takato was furious. He didn't trust Nico, not one bit, but in order to save one of his best friends what choice did he have? He didn't agree at all to any of the conditions Nico had set out in exchange to save Rika even though he had. In order to get his friend back the Tamers had to protect Nico from Shimizu. It wasn't at all that hard to do, but still... he didn't care for the guy so why should his life matter in the very least?

Growlmon gave a jerk with his head and Takato nearly fell off the dinosaur's back. "Sorry Takato."

"It's alright, Growlmon." He assured the dinosaur. They were heading toward the hospital after finding out Ryo's life was put in danger. Kazu, Kenta, and Henry had stayed back with Nico and Yakami – after Kazu pointed out he was there. Despite him being unconscious, Takato felt a little safer having him around.

"You're lost in thought, aren't you, Takato?" Jeri asked, watching him.

He nodded. "Yeah. I just don't trust Nico."

"Me neither, but I'm sure he wasn't lying when he said Rika wasn't in anymore danger." She smiled.

"Why do you think that?" Takato wondered.

"Because I think he likes her." She admitted.

Takato frowned. "How could you possibly tell that."

"His eyes. And the fact he risked his life taking her from the hospital without Shimizu knowing." She told him.

"His eyes? You're joking right? And he probably saved her for blackmailing us." Takato objected the idea. It seemed more plausible to him that Nico was using them, not because he cared for Rika.

"You need to understand love more," Jeri teased. Takato blushed. "Speaking of which, I-"

"I'm sorry, Jeri." Takato cut her off.

"For what?"

"We didn't get to spend much time together. I'll make it up to you, I swear." He vowed. "We'll have a real date when this is over."

Jeri reached her hand over to Takato and clasped his. "Takato, I... Thanks."

* * *

"Damn this bastard," Cyberdramon roared. He had manged to catch Ryo in time before the sword sliced through him. Fortunately, it was right before Ryo had hit the ground.

"I know. He's definitely strong." Ryo admitted, watching Owryumon carefully. The Digimon had emerged from the hospital, tearing half the siding along with it. Military fired guns at it with devastating results. Owryumon fired attacks at them destroying their vehicles and leaving them fleeing for their lives.

"We should bio-emerge, Ryo," the cyborg suggested, not taking his defeat so lightly. In fact, Ryo could tell his partner was getting worked up over an overpowering opponent. He knew Cyberdramon wouldn't be satisfied until he had his way.

"Alright, let's beat this jerk quick and save Rika."

* * *

Sorry for the long wait. My life is suckingly busy. That's right, suckingly. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter and there are still several more to come before the story is over. Also, I found out where to watch the Tamer's episodes in Japanese -squee-. Please review! (BTW, I got rid of the XXX because they looked horrible...)


	11. What Lies Below

**Chapter 11 – What Lies Below**

Data disintegrated into fragments of particles floating through the air. Ryo watched wide-eyed as his white-plated armour slowly began being eaten away from Owryumon's very attacks. Defeat was never an option for the courageous Tamer, however, given the current situation, he was begging to differ. His opponent was strong; undesirably strong. With every landed blow, Justimon was closer to losing.

"Well, Buddy," Ryo whispered to Cyberdramon. "It looks like it's the end of us."

The cyborg hesitantly agreed, "it's the D-Reaper all over."

"Only we had a better chance back then," Ryo told him. He thought back to the time when all the Tamers fought together, taking down the D-Reaper; when Sakyuamon had given him all her power in attempts of a heroic defeat. Ryo stiffled a laugh, "what's going to suck most is that this is our end and I haven't even stolen a kiss from Rika."

Cyberdramon growled in response. "Think about that later. Let's give this guy what we have left."

Justimon turned away from Owyrumon and jumped onto the half-demolished hospital. With the passing time, patients, doctors, and citizens had plenty of time to flee. Justimon felt a tinge of regret and sympathy for those whom were in their sick beds.

Unfortunately for Justimon, in the midst of commotion, the United States Air Force seized an open opportunity to attack Owryumon and himself, resulting in most of the destruction of the hospital. The distraction also gave Owryumon plenty of time to sneakily attack the awe-struck mega level Digimon. Ryo shook his head, trying to temporarily forget.

He knew that he should focus more on defeating Owryumon and less time worrying about the horrified civilians. Glancing in the direction of his opponent, he was hit by another staggering blow. Justimon fell to one knee, clutching his stomach.

"Dammit, Ryo, pay attention!" Cyberdramon roared.

Ryo frowned, but apologized. "I can't help it."

Owryumon grinned sheepishly. "I heard you're the Legendary Tamer, but so far this has been easier than taking candy from a digi-egg." He laughed at his own joke.

"We're just warming up," Justimon lied, regaining his balance. "Justice Burst!" A giant orb of lightning shot from Justimon's metallic robotic arm, hitting Owryumon in the face.

"Ouch, that hurt," came the sarcastic reply. Owryumon lifted his right sword and flung it at Justimon. He barely dodged the sword before being struck by another oncoming one. The left sword had penetrated Justimon's right knee. They left out a screech of pain before falling to the ground below.

* * *

Rika rolled over in her bed, grunting in pain from rolling onto her stomach.

"Ryo?" She called, focusing her eyes. "Renamon? Anyone?" She glanced around the dimly lit room to see it was just a small mattress on the floor, of which she had been sleeping on, a small torch flickering on the wall, and what she assumed to be a urinal of some kind. _I hope I don't have to use that later, _she thought with the slight amusement. In front of the mattress was a cage door. _So they're holding me prisoner? _She stood and hobbled over to the door. Shaking the bars on the door, she shouted down the corridor, "is anyone there?" With no reply, she sunk down onto her knees and began coughing. Dribbles of blood leaked from the corners of her mouth.

Swearing under her breath, she prayed someone would come to her rescue. "It's up to you, Ryo."

* * *

"What the fuck did you just say?" Kazu roared. His fist made contact with Nico's face. Nico staggered backwards and was struck again, knocking him to the floor. Kazu placed a foot on his stomach, glaring down at him. "Spit it out, now!"

Nico spat at his foot. "I said she'll die if they don't hurry."

This time, it was Henry who hit Nico. Henry's foot made contact with Nico's face. "Why didn't you say so sooner? Take us to her or otherwise be killed here and now."

"I thought we established this earlier," Nico said, grabbing Kazu's foot. "Kill me and you'll never find her."

"How long does she have to live?" Henry asked.

Nico looked away; a tear escaped from his eye. "She's internally bleeding. I patched her up as much as I could, but when she was at the hospital, one of Shimizu's' guards was going to kill her. I had to save her before he did."

Renamon stood over Nico. "So now she's locked away and probably in her death bed while you use us to get what you want?"

"It's not like that," Nico defended. "I don't want her to die any more than you guys do, but if they don't hurry soon, she will die."

"Why don't you take us to Rika? You know Takato will hold up his end of the deal." Kazu said. Every moment he looked at Nico the sicker he felt thinking about Rika. He took his foot from off of Nico.

Nico sat up. "How do you suppose we're going to get to her without Shimizu's guards noticing?"

Henry looked at Terriermon. "It doesn't matter how, as long as we save her." His partner nodded in agreement.

* * *

"Lightning Joust!" The attack from Gallantmon's blade struck the unaware Owryumon in the back of the head. The Digimon turned to look at the knight.

"Another joins the battle, I see." Owryumon said with awe. "This will be fun. Kill two for the price of one. Of course, it was originally supposed to be two killed...but then again, I'll be killing four all together."

"Shut up, will ya?" Cyberdramon growled in annoyance. "You've got a big mouth for an ugly Digimon."

"Don't forget he's an ugly human, too." Ryo mocked.

Gallantmon suppressed a laugh. "Let's get serious here, guys. Justimon, are you alright?"

Justimon gave a thumbs up. "Nothing a little band-aid can't cure," he lied, pulling the sword from his leg and tossing it aside. Blood gushed out. "Let's end this guy soon, ok?"

Owryumon laughed, "it'll take the whole lot of you to stop me."

"We'll see about that," Gallantmon said, firing another Lightning Joust his way. Owyrumon dodged swiftly but was struck with a Justice Kick in the side of the face.

"Ow," he said, turning his attention to Justimon. "Golden Armour!" Justimon jumped out of the way and ran for cover under a piece of the broken hospital.

Gallantmon raced toward the guardian Digimon. Owryumon repeated his attack at Gallantmon, who lifted his shield. ""Shield of the Just!" Both attacks collided mid-air, creating mass dust. Justimon ran up the side of the building and kicked Owryumon under his stomach.

The strike of Justimon's kick was so intense it had snapped his already bleeding leg. Justimon left out a shriek of unbearable pain before falling to the ground. Owryumon, however, was not phased. He brought down one of his swords, impaling Justimon in the back.

"You meet your end, Tamer."

* * *

"So Rika is in the Colosseum?" Kazu asked, hanging onto MegaGargomon. He, Nico, Renamon, and Kenta were sitting on the shoulder of Henry and Terriermon's mega evolution.

"Yes." Nico said, staring straight ahead. Digimon swarmed the skies.

"Why there?" MegaGargomon wondered. He swat away several Tentomon and stepped on a Snimon.

Nico tightened his grip on the giant Digimon. "There is a portal under the Colosseum that Shimizu is after. He released his guardian Digimon to protect him whilst he attempted to open it. I don't know what kind of portal, though, so don't ask."

Kazu and Kenta exchanged glances. "Why would you hide her there?"

"Are you saying I should have left her in some house? I locked her up so she couldn't leave. I was planning on going back after I met up with you guys." Nico argued.

Kenta leaned over and whispered in Kazu's ear. "His story is getting more dodgy by the minute." Kazu nodded.

"The place will probably be swarming with guards," Nico told them. "Shimizu will probably be in the main area of the Colosseum. We'll have to split up from the entrance." He turned to Kazu, "You and Kenta will follow me, I'll lead the way. We may have to leave MegaGargomon by himself. Sorry."

"I understand. I'll let you all down here, we're about a block away from the Colosseum. I'm big enough to distract attention." MegaGargomon said, letting everyone down. "Good luck."

"Thanks, be careful man." Kazu said, slapping the toe of MegaGargomon in a friendly gesture. He turned to leave with the others. "Let's move...and quickly."

The four listened as MegaGargomon headed in the opposite direction. Kazu turned to Nico. "Why do we have to sneak in? Didn't you get her in there in the first place?"

Nico nodded. "Yes."

"Why don't we wait here for you?" Kazu asked. "You can take Renamon with you."

Kenta frowned, "why don't you want to go with him?"

"Isn't it obvious? Nico is..or was, one of them. If they see him, he'll be fine. If he sees him with us, who knows what will happen. Renamon can't take out a hundred Digimon by herself. We'll wait across the street, in that flashy building there," he pointed to a half-demolished building before continuing, "bring her here. We'll get Megagargomon's attention when you get back and we'll head to Takato. Sound like a plan?"

"It's a reasonable decision," Renamon agreed. "Don't you move from that building. Be safe."

* * *

"I think I finally got it," Dolphin cheered. He jumped up, out of his seat. "I figured it out!"

Janyuu rushed to his side, "what? What did you figure out?"

Dolphin hit a button on his computer, printing off a page. He grabbed the warm page from the printer and shoved it in Janyuu's face. "The portal! The yellow dot! It's not a portal to the Digital world, that's why it wasn't showing up with all my other scans. It's amazing, you'll never believe this!"

"Will you get to the point?" Janyuu patiently asked.

"It's a resting place for the ancient legend. You know, the Legand of Leon?" Dolphin said, glowing with excitement. Janyuu shook his head. "I was looking up ancient legends of Italy, to see if there may be a hint in history as to something about the Colosseum."

"Wasn't the Colosseum used for gladiator battles, back in the medieval era?" He asked, not sure where Dolphin was going with his information.

Dolphin nodded, "it's true. The Colosseum was once a famous amplitheatre for battles, and animal slayings, and so on. I came across this myth, or legend if you will. Take a look at the paper. Back in 92 AD, there was a famous gladiator battle between a hero named Phanes and another Leon . The legend was written down and placed inside of the Colosseum as a display, if you will. When the Colosseum was struck by an earthquake, the legend was lost with it. The legend was recovered back in 1733 when a group of archeologist dug it up."

"What does this have to do with anything?"

Dolphin put the paper down and crossed his arms. "I'm getting to that. The legend goes like this; Phanes brave and heroic, destined to slay for his life, sought the battle of Leon. Leon, a traitor to the Emperor, savage and unwise. The two fought, spear and spear in the crowds of the theatre. Leon was struck through the chest of Phanes' spear. Furious for losing his life, Leon lay, dying. He looked into the eyes of his killer and said, 'lions, spirits and guardians, will avenge me.'

"His body lay still before, what some said a miracle, others said a work of Hades, Leon changed into a feriocious lion. He attacked Phanes and killed him. The Emperor commanded his men to kill the lion. They did. Laying beside Leon's body was something they had never seen before. It was described as 'imbuing power of light, that blinded a man.' This _light _was buried with Leon, in the middle of the Colosseum."

"Interesting," Janyuu said. "So what Shimizu is after is a light from a legend? That's a joke."

"But what if this light is real. What if..what if somehow this light was from a Digimon? We know magic isn't real. What if this light was caused by Spirit Evolution?"

"There is nothing to suggest that Digimon were alive so long ago!" Janyuu argued.

"Except legends." Dolphin countered.

Janyuu shook his head. "A legend is a story passed on from person to person. It's context distorted by every person's words. Have you never heard of a grapevine? One person says one thing and it's entire meaning changed?" Janyuu grabbed the paper off the table. "This one person is killing hundreds and destorying Rome..Italy, and probably the world all over a legend? It's preposterous."

"That may be so, but it's a motive." Dolphin said, getting impatient. "Look, I'm not saying that's what's really under there, but maybe it's true. Maybe, somehow, Digimon were alive before humans. Who's to say we're not the alternate universe?" He shook his head, "Janyuu, I'm not asking you to agree with me on this, but I'm asking you to think about the facts. People die all the time over legends and myths, treasures, and greed. This could be what he's after."

"I'll call Yamaki, but I'm not saying I believe this." Janyuu growled. He left the room, paper still in hand. Leaning against the door, he read over the legend before calling Yamaki.

* * *

A/N I apologize if there are any spelling mistakes. My OpenOffice won't correct my words now. Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. Still more to come.


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